The Domino Effect
by ChiBo947
Summary: 1x2 Losing your job, finding out your boyfriend cheated on you and getting your car stolen aren't on Duo's to-do list. And it's just about to get worse when he gets mixed up with Relena Peacecraft's Elite Guard and the hot Captain Heero Yuy. Oh lord...
1. Three Strikes and you’re out!

Chi: Oh, cool! A new fic! This fic is based off the movie Sliding Doors. It's a really good movie. However, even though this fic is based off the movie, you don't have to have watched the movie to get what's going on!

Bo: Please read and enjoy the fic. Reviews and constructive criticism are accepted. Flames will be used to make toast.

Chi: Onwards!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

Revised: 6/1/11

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 1- Three Strikes and you're out!

The loud blare of police sirens resounded throughout a hospital that was being excavated by police officers. The scene of the crime was being searched thoroughly; the crime being that a thief had entered the hospital in an attempt to steal hospital equipment. The police couldn't fathom why someone would want to steal hospital equipment, though that wasn't their point of interest at the moment. They were here to find out who'd stolen the equipment. The police officers were yelling orders here and there with their mammoth megaphones. While the noise was loud enough to render anyone deaf, it couldn't compare to the indignant protests of a certain Duo Maxwell.

"I'm telling you I didn't take the equipment. I have no reason to take any of it!" Duo yelled. His boss only sighed.

"That maybe true, but you're the only doctor here who was here late and has a questionable record."

"Questionable record?"

"You're from L2. We've no idea what sort of gangs or other _questionable_ activities you've been involved in."

"You only want to make sure I'm out of here before the police come in here and convict me. You wouldn't be able to stand giving the hospital a bad name! It doesn't matter the fact that I didn't do it, you only have eyes for your precious hospital and that I'm from L2! Is that really enough to send me away or is that just your superiority complex talking? It's probably normal for you to do this to every person with an L2 upbringing," Duo spat out in rage. He couldn't stand it when people badmouthed where he came from. It wasn't false that L2 wasn't the best out of the colonies, but just because it had a bad record didn't mean that one person spoke for the masses. Not everyone was the same on L2 and Duo hated the discrimination against him for the name others made.

"Mr. Maxwell, please understand. I have no choice in this matter. You're the only person with the means to do such a thing," Duo's boss replied, losing its kind edge.

"But-"

"I've nothing more to say to you. I'm letting you go and that's final. Please collect your things from the hospital lounge and leave."

Duo clenched his fists to keep himself from arguing further. Duo turned around and left, struggling to keep his anger in check. It'd been tough finding a job due to the prejudice certain companies had against L2 and now he'd lost it, for a crime he didn't commit! What was he going to do now?

Duo grudgingly collected his bag from the lounge and headed out of the hospital. And Duo had left his apartment in such a good mood, too… Granted, Duo was in a good mood most of the time, though today he'd been particularly happy. Maybe it was because his usually always-busy boyfriend, Klementz had finally gotten his long awaited day off? Duo wasn't able to stay with him today, but now that he'd been… _relieved_ of his duties (he would never admit to being fired) they might be able to do something together.

They could go to the theater and maybe dinner afterwards. Or they could just fool around in bed all day. Either one suited Duo just fine. A smile made its way to Duo's face. He flicked his long, chestnut colored braid over his shoulder. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad…

The braided man visibly blanched when he came to where his car was parked. Or where it should've been parked was more like it. Duo groaned.

Apparently someone had nothing better to do than to fuck with his life today. Some jackass had gone and hijacked his car. Duo cursed his existence. Or hers, if that happened to be the case.

"How could it get any worse…" Duo muttered. As if on cue, thunder boomed and it began to rain. Duo resisted the urge to bang his head against a nearby wall.

Duo took out his cell phone and called Quatre. His blonde best friend might be able to pick him up. When Duo got the answering machine, he sighed. Quatre was probably at an important meeting if he wouldn't pick up his phone. Duo grumbled and went to call a cab.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo's luck did permit him to find a cab, and when it pulled up he'd been about to cheer. Unfortunately for the braided doctor, the driver had been Russian and didn't understand English very well. Duo had to repeat his address 3 times for her to understand him. So here Duo sat; wet, frustrated, pissed off and jobless. He honestly couldn't wait to get home to Klementz.

When the cab pulled up to his apartment complex, Duo practically threw himself out of the cab. He paid for the ride and hastily took his bag. Duo was a blur among the stairs as he grabbed his keys. He was about to stick them into the lock when he heard a moan. Cobalt eyes widened when another moan was emitted. Duo hesitantly entered his key into the lock and opened the door. Duo trailed the sound of the moans with slowly increasing panic. When Duo reached his bedroom door; he stopped. A slender hand grasped the handle with obvious fear of what would be found inside.

The braided doctor slammed the door open. There on his bed was his boyfriend, Klementz. But he wasn't alone. A woman with short black hair was there too. However, it was not so much as the fact that she was there that surprised Duo as much as it was the position they were in. Duo knew what sex looked like and this was exactly it. Duo dropped his bag with a dull thud.

"Klementz?" Duo's eyes filled with tears. Klementz looked, his fact paling.

"Duo! I swear it's not what it looks like!"

"Oh, I think it's definitely what it looks like," Duo growled. The woman had a large flush on her face and had sheepishly began to collect her clothes. Klementz got up and padded to Duo, an apologetic look on his face.

"Duo-" Klementz's head snapped to the side when Duo punched him.

"How long have you been doing this behind my back you unfaithful ass? How long, you bastard?" Duo seethed, tears streaming down his face.

"Duo, I'm sorry."

"Sorry…? Well, 'sorry' just doesn't cover it. If you think 'sorry' is going to make everything better then you're wrong! If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have gone and done this!" Duo pointed at the woman. This was the last straw. Duo couldn't take it anymore. He'd lost his job and the stress was building up on him, threatening to overtake him. Duo valued trust and honesty. After all his motto is "I may run, I may hide, but I'll never tell a lie". Klementz's infidelity clearly went against what Duo believed in and Duo was going to break it off, right here and now. The braided man wiped his tears and sighed, "It's over Klementz. I never want to see you again."

"What! You can't be serious!" Klementz grasped Duo's shoulders. Duo's eyes narrowed.

"Don't touch me," Duo slapped off Klementz's hands. Klementz glared.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you leave. You'll just come crawling back to me. You can't stand to be alone, street rat."

"I'll never come back to a piece of shit like you! You can drop dead and go to hell for all I care! All I can say is good riddance!" Duo stormed out of the apartment, stopping only to get his workbag. Duo departed from the complex and called a cab. He had to try especially hard not to cry while telling the Driver from Hell (what were the odds of getting the same driver twice?) Quatre's address. So much for fooling around in bed…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

When Quatre opened the door, Duo flung himself into Quatre's arms, sobbing helplessly. Both men had toppled over, almost breaking an expensive-looking, but ugly vase. It would've been a pretty funny scene if it weren't for the fact that Duo was crying and they had missed the vase. Quatre hated that vase with a passion. It was an eyesore to look at with its strange colors and abstract look. The only reason Quatre hadn't thrown it away was because one of his sisters had given it to him for his twentieth birthday. Curse his kind heart.

Speaking of kind heart, Quatre had immediately taken it upon himself to mother Duo, almost completely ignoring his guest. When Quatre did remember his poor guest, the blonde looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry Heero, but I can't continue the meeting. Would it be possible to re-schedule?"

Duo looked up to see whom Quatre was talking to. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw the man. This guy could be on the front of a modeling magazine with his messy, chocolate hair and Prussian blue eyes. Even in a suit the guy still looked hot, but more professional.

"It's fine, I needed to finalize a few documents for the transfer anyway," Heero got up giving Quatre a worried glance. The blonde smiled reassuringly and Heero left, closing the door quietly behind him. Quatre then turned his full attention to the distraught man in his arms.

"Shh, Duo, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Aw, Quat everything's so messed up. I mean, it was all so sudden and he just went and… and…" Duo was stuck by a fresh bout of tears. Quatre continued to sooth Duo, though he couldn't make heads or tails of his friend's miserable babbling.

When Duo calmed down, he began to explain what'd happened during the day.

"Someone stole some medical equipment from the hospital. No one was sure who did it. They had the police in and everything," Duo closed his eyes for a brief moment to calm himself before continuing, "I was called in by my boss and he fired me. Said somethin' about how my record was from L2 and that I was the only person on staff who could have done it."

"Duo, you didn't…?"

"Of course not! I gave up my old ways a long time ago," Duo snapped, "Besides, even if I'd done it, which I didn't, I wouldn't have left any trace of having done it. This guy clearly had no idea what he was doing-"

"You're rambling," Quatre sighed. Duo rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish gesture.

"Sorry. So anyway, I just grab my stuff and leave. And what do I find? Just a friggin' oil spot where my car used to be, " Duo fumed at the memory.

"You mean someone stole your car?" Quatre gasped.

"Damn straight! When I find that son-of-a-bitch who stole my car…" Duo left the treat unfinished.

"And then what happened?" Quatre pressed. Duo sobered up and took a deep breath.

"I took a cab home. I did try to call you, but you didn't pick up. I would've tried calling again, but it'd begun to rain and I didn't want my cell phone to get wet."

"I'm sorry, but I was at a meeting and it was extremely important," Quatre apologized.

"With Mr. Armani suit?" Duo grinned, grateful for the brief distraction.

"If you mean Heero, then, yes. We were discussing a business proposal."

"Lucky you. You got to spend all day chatting with Mr. Gorgeous Eyes while I was stuck out in the rain with the Cab Driver From Hell!" Duo pouted.

"Cab Driver From Hell? What happened?" Quatre raised an elegant eyebrow.

"The lady couldn't understand English. I had to repeat my address 3 times. It's not even that hard to remember. Hale Street Apartment Complex. I don't see what's so complicated about that," Duo crossed his arms. With the way Duo kept rambling, Quatre had a feeling that the worst had happened when Duo had arrived at home. Quatre had sneaking suspicion about what had transpired at Duo's apartment and if he was right (which he sincerely hoped he wasn't), Quatre didn't want to push Duo. The blonde businessman gently placed a hand on Duo's shoulder. The braided man caught on and continued his morose tale.

"I get home and run to my apartment. I was just about to open the door when I hear this moan," At this point duo's eyes began to full with tears. Quatre's eyes widened.

"He wasn't…?"

Duo nodded, "I caught him in bed with another woman. Right there, in our bed…" Duo couldn't finish his sentence as the floodgates burst open. Quatre wrapped Duo in his arms, offering whatever solace he could.

Duo felt like he was broken on the inside. Klementz had betrayed his trust with his infidelity and it hurt. It hurt so badly, like there was a hole in his chest that couldn't be filled. Duo wanted to forget about it, however the pain in his chest served as an upsetting reminder of the day's previous events. Klementz had been his friend, his support, his entire world. When something had gone wrong Duo could always find comfort with Klementz. But now he was gone. He'd played the braided man for a fool and used him. Duo thought he'd actually mattered to someone, but clearly Klementz hadn't viewed him that way. And the pain in that was enough to tear Duo apart.

"Was it my fault Quat? Did I do something wrong?" Duo sobbed. Quatre pulled Duo at arms length.

"It was not your fault, you hear me? It was his fault for going behind your back like that. If he felt the need to do something like this, he wasn't good enough for you."

"But…"

"No buts! You didn't do anything wrong," Quatre reasoned sternly. Duo sniffled and forced a smile.

"Thanks Quatre. You're right. I don't need the guy," Duo nodded with a determined look on his face.

"That's right," Quatre wiped a few tears off Duo's face, "Now, do you have any of your stuff with you?" Duo gave a sheepish smile.

"Um, no?"

Quatre sighed, "I'll see about getting your stuff tomorrow."

"I can get my own stuff, y'know."

"Do you want another confrontation with Klementz?"

Duo averted his eyes and didn't respond.

"I thought not. I'll go see if I have a t-shirt and sweats you can borrow for bed." Quatre got up. Duo felt like he should say something as he watched his friends retreating back.

"Quatre!"

The blonde in question turned around.

"Thanks… for everything. You really helped me out today. I owe you big time."

"Silly, you don't owe me a thing. I'm your best friend. It's what best friends do for each other," Quatre smiled. Duo nodded and glanced at the widescreen TV.

"Then, my duty as your awesome best friend declares that I must find out what kind of cable service you get in this fancy ass penthouse," Duo began searching for the remote and Quatre rolled his eyes.

"Duo you've been over here before. You know perfectly well what kind of service I get."

"Screw that and let me watch TV in peace," Duo waved his hand dismissively. Quatre chuckled at Duo's playful behavior, though knowing full well that Duo hadn't completely recovered from the pain that Klementz had dealt him. Duo could smile all he wanted and still not be able to hide his hurt from the blonde businessman.

Quatre placed a hand over his heart and looked to where Duo resided. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be the last time he held a crying Duo.


	2. Wondering, Pondering and showering

Chi: I AM BACK!

Bo: -sighs- Thank you for all the reviews and story alerts. It was greatly appreciated and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Chi: With that being said, on to the fic!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 2: Wondering, Pondering… and showering

Duo awoke late that morning because of the emotional exhaustion of the precedent evening. The braided man could already feel the depression returning from his disastrous breakup, but Duo shook his head resolutely. _I won't let the bastard affect me now! _Duo settled on a late brunch and a shower to wake him up.

There was a note taped on the refrigerator door when Duo came downstairs. Duo ripped it off and scanned through its contents.

Quatre had gone to fetch his stuff from Klementz's house. He'd left Duo some bacon and eggs on the table, which the braided man took to scarfing down greedily. The apartment was pretty much devoid of all noise except Duo's appreciative sounds of gusto.

Duo got up for his shower when he was done. He loosened his braid as he went and began to strip once he reached the bathroom. Duo turned on the shower spray and allowed it to head up.

Duo couldn't help but notice his haggard appearance in the bathroom mirror. His chestnut hair had so many tangles; it was more of a mop than anything. The t-shirt and sweats Quatre had lent him didn't help his dirty appearance. But the most shocking thing had to be Duo's eyes. They were bloodshot, but that much was to be expected as Duo had practically cried Quatre an ocean and Duo wasn't about to lie and say he hadn't cried himself to sleep either.

No, it was more so the fact that Duo's eyes no longer shined. They were like a pair of dull knives. They no longer radiated Duo's brand of mischievousness or playfulness. Instead the pair of cobalt gems were swimming in sadness and hurt.

To tell the truth (not that Duo ever did otherwise) Duo's appearance resembled that of after Solo's death. Solo had been a childhood friend of Duo's and the closest thing to family the former doctor had ever had. Except for the people at the Maxwell church, but that was a story for another day.

When Solo had died from a disease (one of the reasons Duo had been motivated to become a doctor), Duo'd been devastated. Duo felt just like he did now except… now it felt worse. Duo thought he'd meant something in Klementz's eyes, that they had a sort of unbreakable bond. Finding out that that wasn't true, Duo had felt betrayed in more ways than one. Considering the fact that the braided man had been discriminated against simply for coming from L2, it had meant a lot to Duo that Klementz had seen past the typical stereotypes about L2 and seen the real him.

When Duo'd found Klementz cheating on him, it was like a carpet being swept out from under him. Duo couldn't believe that he'd lied to him like that. It wasn't so much as Klementz had been two-timing him, as it was that he thought he could get away with it. The one thing that hit home was that Klementz thought he was that easy. He thought he could get away with it. To Klementz, the risks had meant nothing. To Klementz, Duo was an object that served for sexual relief and nothing more. To Klementz, Duo was just another whore he could pick up off the streets.

Duo could feel the tears resurfacing and hastily wiped them away. He laughed bitterly as he decided that was enough of twisting the knife in the wound. How masochistic of him… Duo decided to enter the shower before he ended up flooding the bathroom with all his crying.

Duo had to say that showers were wonderful inventions. As soon as the spray hit his body, Duo's muscles began to relax. The trauma from before began to seep away and Duo couldn't help but sigh contently. Yes, showers were indeed wonderful inventions.

And the moment would've been perfect too, if it weren't for the ring of the doorbell. Duo glared at the shower door, wishing it would reach the person who'd so horribly interrupted his shower. Then again, the person could be Quatre, who had an irritating habit of forgetting his keys. Duo remembered all the times he'd had to pick the lock to Quatre's penthouse. Then there was also that one time when Duo had accidentally set off the security alarm while he was picking the lock. The SWAT team that arrived had felt the need to pummel him into the next year. Duo'd needed to stay in the hospital for a couple of days after that incident…

There was a list of people who were allowed into Quatre's penthouse consisting of his 29 sisters, his father, Duo himself and a few important business partners that also happened to be friends with Quatre or were family friends. Since none of them were scheduled to come today, it was probably Quatre, as Duo had initially expected. Duo got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before running to look for Quatre's keys. After rummaging with no clue as to where the keys were and the continued insistent ringing of the doorbell, Duo gave up. He was, quite frankly, pissed and frustrated and Quatre could find the keys himself, but not before Duo tore the doorbell apart piece by piece. The damn thing was driving him to the brink of insanity. Whoever invented the doorbell obviously had no life other than to torment people.

_If I hear another doorbell it'll be too soon,_ Duo thought as he headed towards the door, his eye twitching in annoyance. Duo practically ripped the door off its hinges, as he began to yell at the intruder (or as Duo like to put it, The-Evil-Doorbell-Ringer-from-Hell-who-was-obviously-in-league-with the Cab-Driver-from-Hell).

"Quat stop with the doorbell before I rip you a -" Duo cut off when he realized… it wasn't Quatre.

_Shit! Mister Armani Suit!_

Prussian blue eyes stared at Duo strangely, taking his appearance.

"Is Mister Winner in?" Heero asked hesitantly. Duo looked up at Heero, down at himself, then up at Heero once more. It finally hit Duo that he wasn't wearing any clothes, save for the towel that hung around his waist. It was pretty much the only thing keeping the world from seeing him in all his nude glory. A blush made its way to Duo's face as he smiled nervously.

"Gimme a sec'," Duo closed the door. Heero sighed. Well that was certainly interesting… And the view hadn't been that bad either. Heero quickly shook his head to banish the thought. What was he thinking anyway?

Heero nearly jumped when he heard a giant crash followed by a squeak of protest from what sounded strangely like a rubber duck. Duo served to confirm Heero's suspicions with his cry of, "Damn you, you retarded yellow duck!"

Duo appeared at the doorway seconds later, breathless and… dressed.

"Uh, Quatre's not here at the moment. You can wait inside or come by later," Duo panted out.

"I'll wait," Heero stated. It seemed almost like a command.

"Uh, right," Duo stood aside to let Heero in. Once he was sure Heero was safely situated on the couch, he went to go call Quatre.

"C'mon, pick up, pick up," Duo mumbled.

"Hello, this is Quatre," the blonde businessman's voice filtered through.

"Quat, Mister Armani suit is sitting on the couch right now and needs to talk to you."

"Ah, well, I'm in the middle of something right now. I'll be there in half an hour, 40 minutes tops. If he wants to wait," Quatre replied. Duo nodded, then realizing Quatre couldn't see him, replied verbally.

"Got it, but what am I supposed to do while he's here? He's like a human statue, just sitting there on your couch." Duo sighed.

"Oh, y'know, woo him with your wit and charm," Quatre chuckled. Duo smiled.

"I can do that. See ya!"

"Bye."

Duo put the phone down and plopped himself in the plush chair opposite the couch.

"Um, Quatre says he'll be back in about half an hour," Duo relayed. Heero nodded and continued to stare straight ahead. And staring straight ahead entitled staring straight at Duo. Or maybe he was looking out the window behind Duo. Who knows?

Duo averted his gaze trying to look anywhere, anywhere, but Heero's intense eyes. The braided man felt extremely uncomfortable and the awkward silence that had settled over them was not helping one bit. Duo wracked his brain for anything to talk about. Mister Armani suit sure as hell looked professional in his, drumroll please, Armani suit. Perhaps he watched the news? This guy sure seemed like he'd be up to date with all the current politics… It hit Duo like a bowling ball.

"So…" Was his voice really that loud? "What did you think about the recent attempt on Relena Peacecraft's life?" Duo asked. Heero smirked, glad for something to talk about. So this lunatic wasn't a complete idiot after all…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Quatre let out a small sigh as he flicked his phone shut. He'd been careful to avoid using Duo's name, especially with Klementz's prying eyes on him.

As promised, Quatre had gone to pick up Duo's things from Klementz's apartment. Upon his arrival, Quatre had been bombarded with questions about Duo's whereabouts; all to which he sidestepped with retorts only a businessman of his caliber could conjure. Or maybe it was from all the practice he had with enduring Duo's verbal play-fights, but let's not get into that shall we?

Quatre had pretty much asked Klementz for Duo's things at least ten times, but who was counting? Klementz absolutely refuse to hand over the possessions without garnering the information he wanted. Quatre just wanted to set his bodyguard, Rashid, on him, but that wouldn't really help anything. Except for getting rid of the world's largest asshole. Hmm, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all… Quatre wondered if Rashid was off his break yet…

"Who was that?" Klementz's eyes bore into Quatre's.

"My secretary. I need to get back to work so if you would hand me his stuff?"

"It was Duo wasn't it?"

"I don't believe that's any of your concern."

"It doesn't matter whether or not I find him, he'll still come back to me in the end," Klementz swore. "He can't stand to be alone."

Quatre's temper flared, "That's not true and you know it! Duo's a very strong individual who's gone through more pain than you have," Quatre glared, "You used to hit him when you got drunk. And sometimes you were completely sober, but you'd do it anyway," Klementz looked startled.

"What are you talking about? I never—"

"You liar! You used to hit him! I remember Duo coming to me in tears. He'd always blame himself, never you. Duo would spend the night wondering what he did wrong. The next morning he'd be so mad at you. Once he trashed the guest room he was so mad," Quatre frowned for a moment. "He'd avoid you for a week or so, and then you'd apologize to him. And like the softhearted fool he is, he'd get back together with you. And then the cycle would start over." Quatre glared at Klementz. The redhead blinked like a deer in headlights.

"Yeah, well what do you know about Duo an' me. As far as I'm concerned, you are not involved," Klementz smirked.

"Yes well, I become involved when you are the one thing standing between him and happiness, happiness that he won't find with you. You, who would cause him, pain just to show that you have some sort of power over him. Is that it? You needed to sort out your macho bullshit pride? Or was just fun to see him in pain?" Klementz stared at Quatre, eyes wide. Quatre smirked.

"I'm glad he left you; you're more trouble than you're worth. Now if you would _kindly_ fetch his things so that I may be on my way?"

Klementz growled at Quatre and went to fetch Duo's things. He returned ten minutes later with 2 suitcases in hand. He threw them at Quatre, who caught them and began to walk through the door, but stopped.

"Oh, and just a fair warning? If you so much as put a foot near Duo, I'll have security on you faster than you can say 'Uncle'." Klementz merely sneered at him from the doorway and slammed the door in the blonde's face.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

When Quatre got back to his penthouse, he found Duo and Heero talking about football. Well, it was more like Duo was talking and Heero was nodding when appropriate. Quatre had never pegged Heero for a football person so he guessed this scene was more appropriate.

"I see you two are getting along," Quatre smiled. Duo whirled around and grinned.

"Q-man! Just in time! Come here and tell this guy that the Giants are the best!"

"I never denied that they weren't…" Heero replied.

"You probably didn't say anything and let Duo rant," Quatre chuckled. Heero merely smirked, as Duo's left eye twitched.

"Oh, I see how it is. Fine, gang up on me! See if I care," Duo pouted. Quatre laughed and turned to Heero.

"Can you stay or do you have somewhere to go?"

Heero peered at his watch. An hour had passed since he'd been here.

"I have to leave. Relena Peacecraft is attending a conference and I must be there."

"I'm booked for a long time… I do have an opening on the fourteenth, though," Quatre flipped through his agenda.

"Ah, I have a training session then, so I can't make it. I could have my vice-captain, Trowa Barton, meet with you. Would that be fine?" Heero said.

"Yes, at one. That should work out. Thank you," Quatre thanked. Heero nodded and looked at Duo.

"It was a pleasure talking with you Mister…"

"Duo. Duo Maxwell. And the pleasure's all mine Mister…"

"Heero Yuy."

"Heero, then," Duo held out his hand. Heero firmly shook his hand. He bade Quatre farewell and then walked out the door. Moments later something dawned on Duo and he looked at Quatre strangely.

"Did he say Relena Peacecraft?"

Quatre sighed and shook his head. He could already feel the headache coming.


	3. The Elite Guard

Chi: I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY!! I USUALLY GET OUT MY FICS FASTER THAN THIS!! I'll be able to get them out faster now that it's summer so you won't have to worry about a pause like that…. At least not for a while…

Bo: Thank you for waiting as long as you did and especially for all the encouraging reviews! They are our chocolate and vanilla ice cream with syrup and caramel!!

Chi: We won't keep you any longer so on with the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 3: The Elite Guard

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Winner Pharmaceuticals (or just WP Corp.) was a wealthy company, owned by the Winner family. True to its name, WP Corp. specialized in manufacturing medicine, medical equipment, and the like. The company was extremely well known, and the Winners were recognized as one of the wealthiest families in England (1) and, possibly, the world.

So, when Trowa, Heero's vice captain, heard that he was going to be meeting with Quatre Winner, the owner of WP Corp. and heir to the Winner fortune, he was completely and utterly nervous. While the Winner's were mostly businessmen, they also held a ranking as pacifists in the political world. And, for crying out loud, they had a mini army dedicated to them! Trowa could already see all the scenarios in which he'd get assaulted by Winner-protective crazy guards. Oh the humanity!

But when _the_ Quatre Winner strode in, he spotted Trowa and smiled. Trowa blinked and shook his head. That's it, all the scenarios of the Maganac Corps had gone to his head, and now he was imagining Quatre Winner as a kind looking florist! … If we could ignore the fine tailored suit and expensive shoes. Damn…

"Good afternoon. I'm Quatre Winner. I believe we have an appointment scheduled for today?"

_No fucking way! Quatre Winner was supposed to be a giant hulk that ruled with an iron fist!_

Trowa masked his thoughts by extending a hand, "Vice Captain Trowa Barton, 1st Platoon, Elite Guard. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine," Quatre smiled. He took Trowa's hand and sat down.

"Now let's get down to business. Have you heard of the attempt of Relena Peacecraft's life?"

Quatre nodded.

"I will assume that you are also aware of the theft that occurred on the same day, in one of your hospitals?"

Quatre blinked, "I know of both, but I do not see the connection."

Trowa sighed and opened a drawer. He rummaged through and pulled out a file.

"They both occurred on the same day with only about forty-five minutes apart. Police officials were occupied with the theft, and about 40 of the officers left the press conference Relena Peacecraft was at. We lost many officers and soldiers from the Elite Guard in that attack," Trowa looked straight at Quatre. "We believe that the crimes are related."

"Related how?"

"The timing was too close and the mode of employ was the same. The Preventors believe that both crimes were committed by the same organization."

"And what organization would be capable of such a ploy?"

"The OZ syndicate. It's a group that's recently been trying to reform the government via killing various important political figures," Trowa handed Quatre the folder. "This is all the information we've acquired on them. They're a relatively new organization so we don't have much on them. The murder attempt was the first time they've come out into the open." Quatre scanned the contents of the folder. OZ had apparently existed for a little more than a year. They'd been a small-scale group for the most of that time: beginning riots and encouraging outbreaks of violence against the government. For the most part, they'd hidden behind the violence that was caused, so it was impossible to blame them for anything that had broken out. Their whereabouts were unknown, but their main hideout was believed to be in America.

"I understand the situation, but I don't see how I can assist you," Quatre handed Trowa the folder.

"The Elite Guard wishes to forge an alliance of sorts with WPcorp. We lost two platoons in the ambush, each consisting of three soldiers each. That totals to six irreplaceable soldiers. These soldiers are handpicked from around the world. Only the best get in and, once they do, they still receive additional training. Not just anyone can receive this position and loosing six soldiers is far too much. It will take an extremely long time to replace those lost. To prevent more casualties from arising, we whish to add one medic per each platoon," Trowa handed Quatre a manila envelope. "These are the medics we've requested for our force."

"I can see where you're coming from, however I cannot attest to your request. You stated that OZ has its sights set on Ms. Peacecraft, correct? From the ambush OZ waged at the press conference, it is quite obvious that OZ has the means to go after a business, even an extensive one such as mine. Agreeing to your request puts my business, my workers and me at stake. In aiding your cause, OZ might decide to lash out at me to prevent your chances of recuperating after a large battle," Quatre replied, his gaze stern but never unkind.

"Of course, I see that this operation and union puts you at risk, Mister Winner. This is why the Elite Guard, being a branch of the Preventors organization, can give you a more enforced security. We are willing and even offering to give you access to the Preventors' security guards and anything you should need to protect your business. Will you reconsider this union?" Trowa explained.

"I will need a few days to think this over, if you do not mind. You can expect my reply in a few days," Quatre rubbed his temples.

"Of course," Trowa nodded.

"Well then, I bid you farewell and thank you for meeting me; you were quite accommodating," Quatre smiled. Trowa nodded again and waved. Once Quatre had left the room, Trowa relaxed in his chair and sighed. Well, that could've gone worse. At least the Maganac Corps didn't come…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

These past few days had been so boring for Duo. Quatre had been so busy, faxing documents, writing e-mails and the list only continues. And it got worse when Quatre returned from his meeting with his mystery character that Duo didn't know. Oh, Duo would've killed to know what was going on, but Quatre had been holed up in his room doing Shinigami knows what. Duo barely saw his friend except when he brought the blonde businessman meals or when Quatre woke him up.

Duo had had enough. He felt neglected, left out and alone, with nothing but the wide screen TV with over 1000 channels of service for company. But, quite frankly, the TV wasn't a great conversationalist, though he did learn about the 101 ways to plant pickles. Worst hour of his life…

So here he was, about to knock on Quatre's bedroom door in a whit t-shirt and pj pants. True, Duo did not look threatening in the least, but the ex-doctor was ready to get a battering ram if Quatre wouldn't open the door. It was a great plan and, Duo was more that ready to put it into effect, but there was no need to execute it because Quatre had already opened the door and was staring at him strangely.

"Duo, what are you doing out here?"

"You, my friend, have been hiding something, and I'm damn tired of being kept in the dark! Tell me what's going on! You already wouldn't tell me what was up with Yuy coming to your apartment and now this? I though we didn't keep secrets from each other?" Duo looked at Quatre with fairly hurt eyes.

"Well as things stand now I'm going to have to tell you anyway, so come in," Quatre moved aside to let Duo walk in and sit on Quatre's bed. Quatre followed and sat at his own desk. He turned around his chair and a few files in hand, to face Duo with a serious expression. Duo immediately sobered up from his previous rage.

"Have you ever heard of an organization called OZ?" Quatre asked.

"Hmmm. Weren't they on the news once for beginning that protest march up in China? They're one of those mini anti-peace organizations, right?"

"Yes. They've been pretty small scale, up until recently in which they staged an attempt on Relena Peacecraft's life," Quatre stated. Duo's eyes widened into saucers.

"Y'mean OZ has pretty much made it public that they're not happy with the current peace talks and want them out of the picture for good?" Duo gaped. Quatre nodded.

"You remember the when that theft in the hospital occurred?

"How could I forget?" Duo mumbled. Quatre looked at Duo sympathetically.

"I have an informant who tipped me off, saying that it was part of a set up by OZ to reduce the police force at the press conference. Ms. Peacecraft was almost killed in the fray, but barely survived at the cost of two Elite Guard Platoons," Quatre replied.

"Huh, Elite Guard?" Duo cocked his head to one side.

"They're a separate branch of Preventors dedicated specifically to the protection of Relena Peacecraft. Apparently the soldiers that make it up are picked from all over the world, and only the best of the best get in. For them to loose two platoons of the five they have is a pretty harsh blow." Quatre explained.

"Has the Elite Guard been your informant? Is that why you've been acting so weird?"

Quatre nodded, "I'm sorry Duo, but under law, I'm forbidden to disclose any sort of information about the Elite Guard. They are the strongest branch of Preventors and anything to jeopardize their safety must be stopped. The private records of these soldiers are some of the most secure in the world," Quatre explained.

"I understand Quat. It would be stupid of me to begrudge you because of… Hey wait. If you're not allowed to tell me anything about the Elite Guard, why did you just tell me all of this?" Duo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Quatre sighed; it was now or never…

"The Elite Guard has requested that you join them."

An awkward silence hung over them and Quatre could've sworn that he could hear crickets chirping in the background.

"WHAT?!"

"Duo, please--"

"I'm no warrior! I can't fight! Granted I do have street smarts and had to survive alone for 10 years, but that's not the point! I wasn't made for that kind of thing! I--"

"Duo, you're rambling."

"Rambling? Who's rambling?" Duo's voice was getting shriller by the second.

"DUO!!"

Duo abruptly stopped talking. Quatre rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"You're not going to be expected to fight, just to be a medic for the platoon you're assigned to. The only fighting you're going to have to do is probably some basic defense training, if not a little more than that," Quatre said. Duo pursed his lips.

"But why me?"

"They were most likely going over the records of medics and their education. They wish to prevent another loss, like the one at the press conference."

"What's so special about me?"

"Duo, you graduated from Harvard Med. at the age of nineteen and got your fist job in a British hospital a year later, after you'd moved here. I think you're nothing short of a genius," Quatre placed a hand on Duo's shoulder.

"Yeah, and what about my L2 upbringing? I'm not going to set myself up for being called a thief and a liar again!" Duo huffed. Granted, Duo had been called much worse before, but that wasn't the point. The longhaired man hated the discrimination against his kind, and he was absolutely not working in a place full of bigoted idiots like at his previous occupation.

"Oh, Duo…" Quatre sat next to Duo on the bed and threw a comforting arm around him. "The people who work in the Elite Guard come from all over, including the space colonies. Recall Heero from a week ago? He was from L1. And the vice captain I met a couple days ago was from L3. You won't have to worry about that sort of thing. It's like getting a new job."

"Job, huh? Maybe it'll help me move on. Y'know from Klementz and all the bad stuff that happened. I think that would be good: to start regaining my independence. And, quite frankly, I don't think it's going to work out between the widescreen and me, " Duo smiled and hugged Quatre. "Thanks."

"No problem. It's what friends do. Now, since you're going to be a part of the Elite Guard, we'd better get packing," Quatre got off the bed and walked away. Duo stared after Quatre's form incredulously.

"Packing?! What…Who said anything about packing?! Why do I have to pack!? Are you kicking me out?! Hey! QUATRE!!"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

1- The fic takes place in London.


	4. Alternate dimensions of the strangest so

Domino Effect Chapter 4:

Chi: Hello everybody!! We are not dead!! Wooooo!

Bo: Yes! It's alive!! And we are proud to bring you chapter 4!

Chi: It's the long awaited, the much hated… INFORMATION CHAPTER!! –gets stabbed-

Bo: -eyes the bloody body- … ahem… onwards.

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 4: Alternate Dimensions of the Strangest Sort

"Quatre?"

"Yes Duo?"

"Can we change the movie?"

"Why? I thought you liked Ice Age 2."

"Not when it's been played 5 times over! I swear, if I see that damn squirrel one more time, I'm going to shoot something!" Duo screamed, eyeing the TV insanely.

"I thought doctors were supposed to save lives?" Quatre raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm from L2. Not all of us are in our right minds," Duo joked as he stretched. Quatre turned off the TV and leaned back in his seat.

"So, are you excited for your new job?" Quatre smiled encouragingly. Duo made retching noises.

"Kinda… I guess…"

"Why 'I guess'?"

"Well, taking into account the fact that I know almost nothing about this place besides what you've told me, I'd have to say that I feel like I have no idea where to go, where work is, stuff like that," Duo explained. Quatre took out a folder.

"This should clear up some of the uneasiness. Besides, I had to go over these with you anyway."

Duo looked at Quatre as if to say "I'm listening".

"Here is a copy of your records; the same ones the government has. These are to be given to your platoon captain, and he will file them away. The locks on private records are state of the art so you don't have anything to worry about in terms of safety," Quatre pulled out a different sheet with a layout of some sort on it. "This is a map of the premises. You don't have to keep this, it's just for your fist few days. Here're the dormitories… cafeteria… gym…" Quatre pointed to each of the buildings. Duo nodded in understanding. "You'll check in here, in the lounge of the main building."

"Lounge? What the hell does a hideout need a lounge for? It's not a hotel," Duo asked incredulously.

"Well, Relena Peacecraft mostly stays here for security reasons," Quatre stated. Duo's eyes widened.

"What?! Ms. Hotshot diplomat herself, lives here?!" Duo yelled. Quatre winced.

"Duo! That's no way to speak about Relena Peacecraft!"

"I'm sorry, but… this is all so nerve wracking. I mean, I'm going to be surrounded by all these amazing people… To tell the truth, I don't think I could've chosen a better place to _try_ to fit in," Duo rolled his eyes at his last comment. He'd been thinking about what kind of people these "Elite Soldiers" would be. Would they carry weapons on their person outside of work? Granted, Duo could understand that need. He himself almost always carried a knife on his person. Hey you never know what might happen, a fact Duo knew from experience. That and old habits die hard.

He didn't even know if these people were sociable. Being the super humans they are made out to be, they sounded like the type to be incredibly stoic, almost like robots. Duo giggled at the image, however he was still nervous.

"Duo, you'll be fine. Just use that magnetic personality of yours. Besides there's no point in worrying about it," Quatre reassured.

"How's that?" Duo raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you'll only freak yourself out--"

"Too late for that," Duo sighed.

"And… we're here."

The limo stopped and Quatre got out, followed by Duo, luggage in tow.

_It'll be fine, it'll be fine,_ Duo repeated in his head, like a holy mantra. Duo had closed his eyes getting out of the limo, but he cracked one open and the other soon followed.

"Hey Quat, you were supposed to bring me to the base right? So, what was the point of dragging me to a waterfall in some random forest in the middle of a rural Ireland?" Duo placed one hand on his hip and stared at his blonde companion. Quatre sighed.

"You're too impatient Duo. Put your hand on that," Quatre pointed to a box-like metal contraption. Duo looked at Quatre skeptically, but nevertheless obeyed Quatre's instructions. As Duo approached, the metal box beeped and lifted its lid to reveal a scanner. Duo placed his hand on the scanner. It beeped again and a white line moved underneath his hand. Duo jumped at the female voice that spoke out.

"Hand print scan complete. Proceeding to cornea scan."

A smaller box popped out of the rock wall, and the lid flipped open to reveal a smaller scanner. Duo placed his face closer to the box so that the scanner could examine his eye.

"Cornea scan complete. Proceeding to voice recognition. Please state your name."

"Uh… Duo Maxwell." Duo said somewhat uncertainly.

"Voice recognition complete. Disengaging locks."

On cue, the waterfall split to reveal a majestic looking door. A bridge lifted from the lake at the bottom of the waterfall, Duo looked at Quatre.

"Are all the locks in this place so extensive?"

Quatre laughed, and the pair made their way through the door.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Duo, close your mouth, flies are going to swarm in," Quatre chuckled. Duo blinked a couple of times and choked.

"So that's where I'm living now?" Duo pointed to the large building obstructing the forest scene. The door lead to a long tunnel, which had so many drawn out and complicated, locks that Duo's head spun at the mention of them. The medic swore that he was going to go mad (not as if he wasn't already) if all the locks were like that. Duo understood protection, but this was just going overboard even if it was for Relena Peacecraft, supposed _Queen of the World_. And no, that wasn't sarcasm in his voice… er, thoughts.

"Yes, but you won't always be there you'll have to leave for missions," Quatre stated.

"As long as I don't get blown up…" Duo grumbled. The pair began their descent into the fortress.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So this is the lounge… Huh," Duo mumbled to himself. The lounge was spacious and looked like something out of a rich person's magazine. It could've doubled as the Hilton check-in lounge with the crystal chandelier and the professional uniform of the people at the front desk. Duo made his way to the desk, tugging his luggage and feeling somewhat awkward.

"Um, hi. I'm uh, one of the new medics," Duo stumbled through his speech. The midnight haired woman smiled, and Duo calmed down somewhat.

"Name?"

"Duo Maxwell."

The lady turned to her computer to search Duo's name. The computer beeped in conformation, and the lady nodded,

"Alright. Just sit tight for a moment. One of your team members will be down to escort you in a moment," The lady turned to the telephone on her desk and picked it up. Her fingers quickly dialed the number with ease.

"Hi Trowa, this is Aaoki. I'm fine thanks. Is Wufei there? … Can I talk to him? Thank you," the lady presumed to be Aaoki said. There was a pause before she started talking again.

"Hey Wufei. Yeah, no need to sound so happy… Fine, fine, be a jerk. Anyway, the new medic for your team is here and he's a real looker. Gah, no need to bite my head off… just get your ass down here Chang!" Aaoki slammed the phone down with an aggravated sigh. She turned to Duo, a smile pasted onto her face.

"Your escort will be here in a moment."

"Sounds like a real great guy," Duo remarked sarcastically. Aaoki laughed.

"Nah, he's just got a sick up his ass. Once he loosens up he's a great guy. But he can be seriously strict. Once, I had to work with him, because his team members were protecting Ms. Peacecraft at a meeting. I swear he was on my back 24/7. It was so tiring." Aaoki nodded in agreement with herself.

"That's just great. I can feel my freedom going out the window," Duo scratched his head.

"That and a whole lot more." Duo looked at the character that had cut in so brutally.

Were all the men that worked in the Elite Guard sexy? Was it a prerequisite that Duo hadn't known about? Because this guy, like Heero, looked like a Greek (or in this case, Chinese) god. He had onyx eyes and an angular face. His black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that reflected his prim and proper nature that was also shown through his tidy clothing. His no nonsense attitude shone in his eyes as well as a need to do everything the best of his ability.

Duo was a good judge of character. He'd needed to be if he was to survive on the streets, and though Wufei seemed harsh, he didn't look like a bad person. Duo still chose to keep on his toes.

"Wufei! Be nice to the new guy! God knows how nervous he is," Aaoki yelled. Damn, women were perceptive…

"Well, if he's so nervous he shouldn't be here," Wufei replied. Duo could practically hear the challenge in his voice.

"Ugh, you're such an ass," Aaoki sniffed in disdain and returned to her computer. Wufei paid no mind to her, instead looking Duo's way.

"You're Duo Maxwell right? I will show you around, tell you the rules, procedures, duties, et cetera, et cetera. I expect you to remember this, and I expect you not to lag behind. This is a tough job you're doing, and I expect you to get it right," Wufei stated, staring Duo straight in the eyes. A shiver ran up the braided man's spine. This guy was dead serious. Winning him over would be tough to do, especially since one mess up could mean the guillotine for him. Duo nodded and followed Wufei out of the lounge. Aaoki smiled wistfully and shook her head.

"And there goes yet _another_ person that Wufei's scared shitless… poor guy."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"This is the cafeteria. You may eat a variety of selections from all over the world, so you do not have to worry about not finding something you do not like. Breakfast is between 6:00 AM and 8:30 AM, lunch is at 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM, and dinner is from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. All teams present at those hours should report here unless there is some extenuating circumstance, in which case your captain should be informed of such. There is also the choice to cook your own meals in your dorm, however obtaining the ingredients is up to you. You may talk with the kitchen staff about that. Any questions?" Wufei concluded.

"Yeah, do you need to pay for the food?" Duo stared at the cafeteria. It was just every bit as spacious and luxurious as the so called "Lounge". The chefs worked behind marble counters, preparing gourmet food to cater to a wide variety of tastes. The tables were circular with comfortable and fancy looking chairs surrounding them. There wasn't anyone inside besides the chefs.

Preventors seemed to have a lot of money to spend on their golden girl. Either that or Ms. Peacecraft made a few additions herself .In that case, Duo could tell he would not get along with this pompous pacifist. She flaunted her wealth in such a way that the braided doctor felt uncomfortable and out of his element. What she made in a week could probably feed 200 street orphans on L2 for a month at least.

"Yes, but your wage covers that. We automatically deduct the price of the food you've eaten," Wufei answered.

"How much are we paid?"

"About 200,000 per year."

"Are you serious?!"

"Dead serious."

Duo quickly closed his jaw. It had fallen open in surprise when he'd heard his pay. It was more double what he'd been paid when he was a surgeon.

"Moving on," Wufei turned and headed to the left, with Duo in tow.

Elite Guard HQ was a mammoth facility. It had 3 wings: the hospital wing, the dormitories and the offices. There was a gym area that contained everything that a bodybuilder ever dreamed of, complete with a pool. The cafeteria doubled as a ballroom on occasion, which explained its regal appearance.

The dormitories were large rooms that were equipped with a bathroom, shower, kitchen and bedroom. In the bedroom was a large double bed, a bedside table with a lamp and a TV. Of course there was a lock on the door that required voice recognition and a thumbprint scan. When Duo had complained about the lock, Wufei replied with:

"You can never be too careful. There are people who want you dead now."

Duo then sniffed at their prudence. Ha, _prude_nce… he made a funny…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo closed the door behind him. He no longer had his luggage; he'd dropped it off in his room.

"Where to next Wuffers?" Duo asked.

"That's _Wu Fei _to you, and I guess it's time for you to meet the rest of the team." Wufei smiled, creepily. Duo gulped and followed his escort.

The workplace was located right next to the dorms, through a long tunnel made of transparent material. Through the walls Duo could see the dense Irish Forest. The trees' limbs snaked around the see through tunnel, encasing it in brown and green. There were a few patches where the branches did not cover, which revealed the extensive forest cover.

"Are you coming or now, Maxwell?" Wufei yelled. Duo realized that he'd just been standing there, and he jogged after Wufei.

"So, what's the rest of the team like?" Duo looked at Wufei. The Asian man somehow seemed bigger than him, despite the fact that they were more of less the same height.

"The platoon is divided into 3 roles. The Recon officer, Trowa Barton, is in charge of information and intelligence. He's efficient and always makes deadlines."

"You're not very good at this."

"Don't have to be. Anyway, the weapons specialist and the strategist, who--"

"What the hell do you mean you're cutting my weapon's budget?!" A voice sliced through the air. The voice was outraged as well as it was obviously a woman's. What was up with females here; were they all on PMS?

Wufei sighed. Not again. The Chinese man hurried down the hallway and slammed the door to his team's office open.

"What is going on here?!" Wufei demanded. Duo sniffed and trotted after his escort. He felt like a dog being tugged around by its owner. The braided medic arrived on the scene just after Wufei's outburst. A woman with silver hair and navy blue tips was standing next to a man with the longest bangs Duo had ever seen, and the doctor had seen some pretty bizarre hairstyles in his life. The bangs concealed the entire right side of his face, leaving only his left green eye staring eerily at him. He was dressed in a casual work shirt and slacks while the woman was dressed in a grey tank top and a black skirt. Emblazoned on the woman's left arm was a black butterfly-angel wing tattoo.

"What the hell are you bitching about Waffles?"

"It's Wufei!"

"Whatever. Anyway this guy just cut half my weapons budget. Now I only have half as much as before. How am I supposed to get through the year with a quarter million Euros?"

"You'll just have to deal because that's your punishment," The green eyed man walked to a large wooden desk.

"Punishment?"

"For ditching the mission last week."

"I had some things to take care of! It wasn't an important mission…"

"Not an important mission? Every mission is important! Besides, you didn't even have permission to leave base, you were breaking protocol!"

"Shut up Waffles!"

"It's WUFEI!!"

Duo put his hand on his forehead. He was starting to get a headache…

"Where were you?" The green-eyed wonder asked.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because if you don't, I'll tell the Captain that you stole the Hope Diamond two months ago."

"C'mon Trowa, you can't be serious!"

"I'm dead serious Ms. Niwa."

"I was in France."

"Where in France, Itami?"

"Paris."

"Did you…?"

"Yeah, I did. I stole the Mona Lisa," Itami pointed to herself and smirked. Wufei was not amused. He hit her over the head.

"You idiot!"

"Hey, I put it back! You won't tell the Captain, right?" Itami smiled.

"I guess I won't. But if I hear of any mishaps, I will tell the Captain." Trowa asserted.

"No you won't because I'm one of the best you've got," Itami laughed. Wufei sighed.

"The sad thing is that she's right."

"Shut up Waffles!"

"IT'S WUFEI, YOU KLEPTOMANIAC!!"

"Yeah, okay. So, when is anyone going to introduce the guy who's hiding behind _Chang_?" Itami turned her crimson eyes to look at him. Trowa also swiveled his head to stare at Duo. Wufei immediately stepped in.

"This is Duo Maxwell. He's the new medic on our team." Wufei stated. Itami made her way to Duo and stared him straight in the eyes.

"L2, right?"

"Good guess."

"Not a guess. Lived on L2 for 13 years. I know a person from L2 when I see one," Itami smirked.

"Gang member?" Duo pointed to the tattoo. Itami nodded.

"Got any weapons training?" Itami asked.

"The basic."

"Hm, well, if Waffles gets to be too overbearing, I'll help you out," Itami said.

"Thanks. See ya around," Duo smiled.

"Yup, see ya Duo," Itami waved and left.

"Gah, Fist Aaoki, then Itami. Next thing you know, Mei's going to come bouncing through the windows." Wufei walked to his own desk.

"Don't jinx us," Trowa deadpanned from his computer.

"Where's Yuy?" Wufei asked. Duo felt a faint bell ringing in the back of his mind, as if that name should be familiar…

"He's photo copying records for the file cabinet. He should be back soon," Trowa looked up from his computer. "I guess I should introduce myself formally." Trowa got up and extended a hand to Duo.

"Vice Captain Trowa Barton, Recon officer, 1st Platoon, Elite Guard." Duo took the hand and shook it.

"Do I need a long title?"

"For professionalism. When we go for peace talks or press conferences, that's how we introduce ourselves."

"Okay then, let's see if I can get this right. Duo Maxwell, uh… Medical field agent, 1st Platoon, Elite Guard," Duo let go of Trowa's hand.

"That'll work. Your desk is in that corner. You'll be managing medical records, checking that the medical equipment in the hospital wing is working up to par and you'll be in charge of healing the wounded. You'll also help with mission plans and organizing the files. Any questions?" Trowa concluded.

"Yeah, where the hell is this third member? Is he antisocial or something?" Duo pouted. Trowa smirked.

"He's actually right behind you."

Duo mentally prepared himself for some major sucking up, especially for the "antisocial" comment, and turned to face the mystery member.

"We meet again Duo Maxwell." A pair of Prussian blue eyes bore into cobalt.

"Heero? You work here?" Duo cocked his head to one side. No wonder Quatre wouldn't tell him where Heero worked…

"Captain Heero Yuy, Strategist Agent, 1st platoon, Elite Guard. Welcome to the team," Heero's smirk promised grueling hours of work, sweat, blood and tears. Duo saw hell in those eyes. He had no idea what he'd just gotten himself into. The men were psychopaths (at least Wufei seemed to be, with his attitude) and the women were PMSing spawns of Satan. Duo felt like crying.

_Dear mother, wherever you may be, do your motherly duty and SAVE ME!!_

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-


	5. Guns n' Roses

Chi: I AM SORRY!!!!!! I so didn't mean for it to take so long, but between school and sports we both had no time!!!

Bo: Yeah, taking all honors classes is no fun, but don't pay any attention to that, that's not what you came for… I hope…

Chi: So we will not keep you waiting any longer!! Onwards!!!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 5: Guns n' Roses

Duo flopped on his bed with a thwump. He was dead, deceased, wasted, thrown to the dogs and left to rot. This Elite Guard was killing him. His team worked him until he was begging for a reprieve. Trowa kept on handing him stack upon stack of paperwork until his hands were bleeding from paper cuts. Sure he'd done paperwork before, but this was overkill. Wouldn't that be a stupid way to die; death by a million paper cuts…

Even when he did get to leave the office (try prison), it was to do weapon training with Wufei. That had him literally scrambling for cover because dear old Wuffers would attack him with bullets for six hours and Duo would have to dodge them (and not turn into Swiss cheese in the process). Most people would call this suicide. Duo called it giving a psychotic, psychopathic Asian a gun and telling him to go wild. It was strange how composed Wufei seemed when he could go insane given a machine gun. Then again, Duo did have an obsession for blowing things up in his street gang days, so he guessed he sympathized.

Even so, Duo did not approve of being skewered by Wufei on crack, er gunpowder… or whatever he was on. A couple of days ago Duo locked himself inside a gym closet to escape the onslaught. Wufei was not amused and had banged his fists on the door before shooting at it. Too bad it was made of fortified steel, or that might have actually been a good idea. Wufei cursed and went to get Heero.

Heero made swift work of the lock only to find that Duo had barricaded himself inside, so they couldn't open the door. The whole ordeal took 1 hour; from finding platoon 2 (Whom they knew kept a battering ram), to actually using said battering ram to bust the door open and then locating Duo in the closet via Marco-Polo (why was the damn closet so big anyways?), they dragged Duo kicking and screaming and banished him to the office for more papercuts and a lecture from Trowa.

Duo did think about running away after the fist few days, but Heero (who somehow knew exactly what he was thinking) threatened to send the entire Preventors organization should he decide to act on his desires. And Duo may be a clown sometimes, but he was not stupid. Preventors would find him and Duo knew it was not smart to get tangled in the law. The longhaired man knew so from experience.

All obvious and logical reasons aside, Duo knew what the real reason was. Klementz worked for the Preventors. And as stupid and unlikely as it was, Duo was afraid that Klementz would find him. If the bastard managed to find him, then the doctor might have to face the problems that were plaguing him, his insecurities and the way Klementz still made him feel… Especially the way Klementz managed to make him feel like he was lower than dirt, like he wasn't wanted nor needed which was even more apparent by the Elite Guard Situation. He didn't belong here. These super-humans were heroes to be gawked at and showcased in all their radiant glory. And Duo was… just Duo (when you don't count the whole "graduating from Harvard Med at the age of nineteen" thing).

Duo sniffled in his pillow. Great, now he felt depressed. The best thing to do would be to let it all out. Slowly, tears formed along the rims of his eyes. Duo let the tears slide down his cheeks, his breaths hitching. He didn't wail or scream, just sat there focusing on his breathing. Even when the tears stopped falling, he closed his eyes and continued to breathe deeply. The tear tracks going down his face had already dried up when Duo broke out of his self-induced trance. He yawned and peered into the digital clock on his left.

The glowing green numbers read 8:43. Duo rubbed his eyes and reread the numbers. They didn't change. The doctor frowned. He usually didn't feel tired until 11. The work must be really taking its toll on him.

Duo got up to go through his nightly routine of brushing his hair and teeth, then re-braiding the hair. He stripped down to his boxers and snuggled into the sheets. Duo fell asleep instantly.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo woke up to the sounds of construction work outside his door… Wait, that's not right…

BANG! "Duo open this door right now! I am not kidding!"

Scratch that. It was Heero waging war on his door. What the hell was he doing here?

Duo got up, ignoring the protests of his limbs and opened the door.

"Heero what are you doing here? It's…" Duo looked back to the clock and his eyes widened. "… Fucking 4:45 in the morning!! Are you fucking INSANE?!" Duo yelled, Heero pushed past him and Duo closed the door behind him.

"Have you forgotten about this morning?" Heero frowned. Duo pulled a face.

"Huh?"

"The self defense training we had scheduled for today!" Heero said. It all came rushing back to Duo. His platoon had decided that the sessions with Wufei were going nowhere. They'd agreed to halt the weapons training for now and go ahead with the self-defense training. Duo had gone along with it just barely paying attention. He was supposed to meet Heero in the gym in the early morning. However; "early morning" specified no time so Duo took it to mean 7. Apparently it meant 4:30. Heero waited 15 minutes before coming to get him.

"You never specified a time!!" Duo protested.

"I said early morning." Heero replied.

"Early morning is not a time! Did you think I would go at 4:30?!" Duo sighed.

"No, I figured you wouldn't so I came to get you," Heero stated. Cobalt eyes narrowed. Duo turned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Tough luck. I'm not going."

Heero was not impressed, "What are you talking about? You don't have a choice in the matter."

"Of course I don't have a choice in the matter, or any matter. Why not just pile all the work on top of the donkey boy! The fact that I'm still here isn't my choice either! You don't try to make it any better! Just send me to my death already! I can't stand it anymore! You and you're Elite Guard can go die!" Duo breathed hard. All the frustration from the past week seemed to have filled him up with anger. The words had just kept coming and Duo was powerless to stop them.

"You're not coming quietly, are you?" Heero sighed.

Duo stood firm, "No."

"Very well."

And in one fluid movement, Heero had thrown Duo over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What are you doing?!" Duo yelled.

"I told you, you don't have a choice in the matter," Heero headed out the door.

"Oh hell no. You are not parading me around in my boxers," Duo punched Heero's back. Damn hard muscles…

"Just watch me," Heero continued out the hallway.

"Heero let go of me, you bastard! You are dead when I get down, you hear me?! DEAD!!!" Duo exclaimed.

"Just shut up, rookie." Heero grumbled. Why did he always get stuck with the feisty ones?

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo frowned in his gym clothes (_graciously_ given by the Captain). The spandex shorts stuck to him like a second skin, making him feel naked. Who the hell wore spandex anyway? Duo checked his reflection in the mirror.

The pale blue shirt completely engulfed his frame. It draped all the way down to his knees and covered the spandex, which was a good point. The bad was that it made him feel like a retarded little kid.

Heero had gone off to grab some gym clothes for himself since Duo was using his. The doctor couldn't imagine Heero in these clothes; it made him shiver at the fashion disaster. The horror!

Duo scratched his head and watched his mirror twin mime the action. This shirt was really bothering him. He took out his hairtie and tied the shirt back. There! Much better.

Duo admired himself in the mirror before encountering another problem; his hair. Duo stared at the chestnut locks. Darn it, he had split ends. … He blinked. Could he sound anymore like a girl?

The longhaired man looked around. After a while, he spied a lone ribbon on a shelf. After wrestling with himself over the color (it was bright, blinding pink. Why, God, why?!), he re-braided his hair and tied it back with the ribbon-from-hell. Duo stared at the clock. What was taking Heero so long? Duo amused himself by making fish faces in the mirror.

"What are you doing, rookie?"

Duo whirled around, a light flush on his cheeks. It only served to deepen when he saw Heero.

The black muscle shirt perfectly outlined his abs and tanned arms. And, of course, the navy blue sweatpants seemed to match perfectly with his shirt. And this was the guy that'd handed him a two-sizes-too-large shirt and spandex shorts. Where was the logic? The justice?

"Let's go."

The pair walked out onto the gym field. The gym always had a lingering smell of gunpowder because the target range was nearby. The closet on the side (the same one Duo locked himself inside) had supplies for all sorts of activities, and there were machines in the room next door. Heero faced Duo.

"So you have no training, whatsoever?" Heero asked.

"My mentor back on my home colony had me learn the basics of varried disciplines, but I don't have any formal training." Duo decided not to mention anything about his street gang childhood. Heero seemed thoughtful before settling on something.

"We'll have a practice battle. After that I'll determine what we need to work on and go from there," Heero nodded to himself. Duo gulped. He hadn't fought in a long time. Sure he'd gone to the gym, but that wasn't the same…

Heero quickly readied himself and charged at the braided medic. Hey, all's fair in love and war.

Duo's eyes widened at the approaching Heero. His mind was screaming, 'Back up! Run away! DO SOMETHING!' but his body had frozen from hear and nervousness. The last time he'd been in this sort of situation was at 17, right before his birthday and acceptance to Harvard Med.

When Heero was a foot away, Duo's body roared to life, backflipping to escape the incoming punch. The captain stopped mid-punch, astounded. He stared at Duo with his eyebrow raised in question while the man in question tried to get his head on straight.

"What was that?" Heero asked.

"Some kids could do a handstand and some could do a cartwheel. Well I can backflip. My mentor helped me refine it a little. I told you I learned the basics of many things, including gymnastics. One of the strangest things I've done…" Duo mused. Heero 'hum'ed thoughtfully, Duo sighed.

"Are we gonna stop because I wowed you with a backflip?"

"You wish," Heero smirked and continued his attack with a series of punches. Duo dodged the first few, before taking a blow to the gut and falling back. He breathed a few times before sitting up and opening and closing his hand, some of his old instincts were coming back. Well, at least it was a start. It was either learn-as-you-go or get creamed by Heero, and Duo did **NOT** want to be creamed by Heero.

"Come on rookie. Don't tell me that's all you've got?" Heero teased. Duo's eyes widened.

"Didn't know you were into witty banter, Captain."

Heero's eyes twinkled mischievously, "You'll find there's a lot of things you don't know about me."

Duo didn't know whether to be scared or happy that he'd finally gotten Heero to talk in something that wasn't a stoic monotone or an angry scolding (which Duo received plenty of after the "Closet Incident"). Duo had tried plenty of times before to get Heero to show some sort of emotion. He only managed to piss him off many times, and get another lecture on how he was being a distraction.

Duo got up and dusted himself off.

"Okay ready!" Duo chirped. Heero tried a kick, to which Duo ducked and aimed a sweeping kick at the back of his knee. The captain tumbled to the floor, but swiftly got back up and attacked with a flurry of blows. Duo took most of the blows but he didn't fall, merely stumbled. Duo huffed; he'd been so much better at this when he was sixteen! He tried to remember how he'd fought in his street days. An idea flashed through his mind.

When Heero came to hit him, Duo grabbed the incoming fist, turned with his back facing Heero and flipped him over his shoulder. However, Duo had miscalculated two things.

One: Heero was heavier than him. It wasn't just a five-pound difference. No, it was more like 20 pounds and that was more than enough to throw Duo off balance.

Two: Duo didn't have the strength or momentum to throw his captain over his shoulder. True, Duo had regained some of his street senses and remembered some of his mentor's teachings, but this was not enough to compensate for his sheer inexperience. So what happened?

Duo ended up tripping over his own feet and he couldn't catch himself duo to Heero's weight that was bearing down on his back. The pair fell to the floor. Duo managed to turn himself so that his face wouldn't smash into the floor. He was rewarded with the painful thunk of his head hitting the floor. Quatre always did say he had a hard head…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Heero shook his head with a grumble. Duo's body had cushioned the fall. Heero lifted his head up and looked at Duo. His eyes were held closed from the pain of his head injury, and his black eyelashes seemed to kiss his cheeks, which were slightly pink from exertion. Duo's cheekbones were held high and framed by the few silken strands that had escaped from his braid. Perfectly straight and white teeth came out to clamp his bottom lip (probably to keep from crying out when his head met the cold, hard floor), while he breathed through his nose, which was cutely upturned.

All in all, Heero didn't regret his decision to stay and stare at Duo for a few moments. He was extremely good looking. Heero would even venture out to say that Duo was one of the most attractive people he'd ever met. Only one person could rival Duo and that was a long time ago. But a person's appearance wasn't all that counted, and sometimes Heero really couldn't stand Duo's personality. He was like a child going through a rebellious phase.

Duo opened his eyes, revealing the cobalt gems beneath. The medic blinked a few times before a rosy flush painted it's way across his face. He released his lip from between his teeth and averted his eyes. Heero frowned, wondering why Duo was acting so strangely when it dawned on him; their faces were mere millimeters apart.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo felt words climb up his throat only to die on his tongue. Heero was waaaaaay too close. This shouldn't be happening… couldn't be happening.

Duo wanted to stop this. He wanted to run and hide and pretend this never happened. But he couldn't. His body was paralyzed under Heero's body, his will trapped under Heero's gaze. Duo averted his eyes.

It was like his body knew something ahead of his mind. Duo's eyes widened. There was no fucking way he was attracted to Heero Yuy! It had only been a week! It wasn't possible!

Granted, Heero always took special care to make sure that Duo knew how to do whatever he was doing. He always asked about how he was adapting. Duo had figured Heero was just asking for the good of the team, given his serious attitude. But maybe he'd been asking out of compassion?

Duo mentally slapped himself on the head. He'd just come out a bad relationship and he was thinking like this?! What was wrong with him?

Well, the first step to getting out of this sticky situation was to dispel the awkward silence that'd settled over them. There would be enough time to criticize his thinking later.

"Ah, Captain…?" Duo started, unable to finish. Heero seemed thoughtful, but was dead to the braided man's hesitant voice. Duo tried again.

"Heero?"

Heero seemed to have settled on something and he looked Duo straight in the eyes. Duo felt nervous; he didn't like that decisive gleam in the captain's gorgeous eyes. Heero closed his eyes briefly before opening them up and slowly closing the gap between their faces so that their lips were nearly touching. Duo's face was a violent red and his mind had gone back to shouting orders like a drill sergeant. And just when Heero was about to take the final plunge, a voice cut through the moment like scissors through paper.

"Ahem."

Two heads swiveled to the source of the disturbance. A lavender haired woman stood in the doorway, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Duo remembered her. She was the third member of Platoon 3, Mei-Mei (shortened to Mei because no one wants their name repeated twice). She'd sidled up to him on the second day he was here in the morning and demanded he tell her everything about him, from the color of his underwear to when his birthday was. Despite the shocking first-impression (She'd fast-talked him for half an hour. Now that was some real skill.), Mei was the recon officer for platoon 3 and had a wicked sense of humor. She and Duo bonded fairly quickly though they didn't get to talk much outside the first time they met.

"I hate to break up the love fest, but Trowa demands you two get your butts over to work quarters. A new mission from HQ just patched through," Mei smiled. Duo nodded, stiff from under Heero and got up with as much dignity as he could muster. Heero stared at the spot where Duo had been for a couple of seconds, before shaking his head. He'd have to have a mental beat down session later; what the hell had he been thinking?! Oh, right… he hadn't. He'd just gone with the moment and acted on his warped, messed up feelings. Heero had clearly made a mistake and freaked out the poor rookie. Duo would probably never feel comfortable in the same room as him… He would apologize later.

"Thanks for the heads up, Mei," Duo stretched out. Mei caught his arm mid-stretch and pulled him aside.

"Great catch! How'd you get so close to Heero anyway? The guy's a human ice cube," Mei whispered.

"It's not like that. We were practice fighting and I pulled a stupid move and we fell. No big deal," Duo shrugged.

"And I'm sure of the fact that you two were seconds away from engaging in a makeout session had nothing to do with it. Right, sweetie, I'm not stupid. You've got the hot's for Heero Yuy. Good choice!" Mei playfully slapped Duo on the shoulder.

"I do not! We've barely spoken and I hardly know him! Sure he's attractive, I'll admit that, but he's way to strict," Duo replied.

"Sometimes the body knows better than the mind," Mei said, creepily. Duo rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, that stuff only happens in romance novels. Anyway, I'm going, See ya," Duo waved and began to walk towards the offices. Mei seemed like she was about to resume what she was doing earlier when she noticed something

"Wait, Duo!!"

"What?"

"Why are you wearing my ribbon?"


	6. Just call me Mademoiselle Chateau!

Chi: Heyyy, um, I know you're angry for the very, _very_ delayed update…

Bo: But its okay! Because this chapter makes it worth it! I know you guys will love it :)

Chi: Yeah! What she said! Please don't yell at us! :'(

Bo: So anyways, you probably might be seeing _some _slow updates, but Chi said she'll be writing over vacation. Soooo, you might (_might!_) see another update soon!

Chi: Yup! Happy reading!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 6: Just call me Mademoiselle Chateau!

As soon as Heero entered and gave the office a once-over, he concluded that it was as if a bomb had just exploded. Papers were being shuffled, inventories checked, orders hurled left and right. Duo might've taken cover beneath the desks himself, were it not for the fact that he was part of the chaos that was platoon 1 in mission mode.

"Mission report!" Heero stated as he entered the office.

"Arms factory in France is known to be a base to OZ. Reconnaissance is to steal all information regarding OZ and erase all data banks. Target to be destroyed at the end of mission."

"What do we have to use?"

"2 sniper riffles, 4 handguns, 2 bombs, 1 machine gun, a whole lot of dynamite and bullet proof armor."

"That's it?" Trowa looked at Wufei in question.

"It's not all that big of a facility. Shouldn't be all that hard to take down. It'll be a good mission for our rookie here," Wufei cast a fleeting look at Duo.

"Speaking of which, make sure you have all first aid equipment. It wouldn't do to forget why you're here, Maxwell," Heero reminded. Duo nodded, butterflies fluttering in his stomach from a mixture of nervousness and surprise. Heero seemed to have forgotten completely about what had transpired earlier.

"Yuy, the mission parameters state that we have to go under a disguise. We have identities to use and-" Trowa was interrupted as the door swung open and the members of platoon three strode in.

"Hello darlings!" Mei exclaimed. "We've come to help!"

"You asked them to help us? Are you insane?" Wufei glared at Trowa angrily.

"Considering two of you are undercover as girls and neither of you know mascara from eye shadow, you should be grateful for our help Waffles," Itami made herself comfortable on a stool. Wufei only glowered angrily.

"Huh? Who said anything about dressing up as girls?" Duo looked slightly annoyed. Trowa held up the mission report in his hands.

"The higher ups, so you have no say in the matter."

Duo groaned, "We can just add this to the other countless time I've been cross dressed…"

"You've cross dressed before? Is there something you haven't been telling us?" Aaoki looked faintly amused. Duo flushed at the accidental implications of his own words.

"No, not of my own free will!"

"L2?" Itami looked at Duo seriously. The doctor nodded. The thief closed her eyes and looked away.

"Well, at least it means you'll have the experience to act the part, Mademoiselle Chateau," Trowa handed him a piece of paper. "You'll be vacationing with you're fiancé in France. You're a florist who lived in a small village in the mountains before you became engaged."

"So who's my fiancé?" Duo asked, a smirk lighting his face.

"That would be me, Mademoiselle Chateau," Heero smirked. Duo nearly blanched. Someone was obviously playing a cruel joke. Duo resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at Mei who was making a heart above Heero's head with her hands.

"Well, who's the other woman? We'd like to get started so we can be on our merry way. You guys have a plane to catch at noon, anyway," Aaoki stated. Wufei grumbled and walked over to the girls.

"I swear, if you do anything out of line…" Wufei left the threat unfinished. Itami laughed.

"Whatever you say Waffles."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

One hour and a lot of screaming (mostly on the part of Wufei and Itami hurling insults at each other) later found Duo in a lavender sundress, white sandals and a purple ribbon in his hair. Duo guessed that the choice of colors was mostly on Mei's part (he'd learned that her favorite color was purple when he'd first met her). His brown hair reached down to his mid thigh and the dress went down to his knees. After a few awkward moments of staring into the mirror ("Is that seriously me?") he looked back at Aaoki.

"If I wasn't sure of my own gender, I'd think I actually was a girl. You guys are good!" Duo spun around a couple of times.

"We've been doing the disguises for the Elite Guard since we were first made into a team. I think we have it down to a science. Pretty much everyone has been subject to cross dressing at least once," Aaoki laughed.

"Even Trowa and Heero?" The thought of Heero in a dress made Duo crack up.

"Actually we have some pretty interesting pictures of the time Heero had to go undercover as a female model. If succeed on your first mission, I'll let you see them," Aaoki winked at the doctor in drag. Duo laughed.

"I'll remember that."

There had been a constant banging going on in the room joining the one Duo was in. The indigo eyed man had pretty much assumed it to be Wufei putting up a fight, judging from the constant shrieks and curses (Duo didn't even know that Mei knew so many curses. He was pretty sure most of those should not be coming out of a lady's mouth, but Wufei was being a stubborn prick and continuing to be difficult). The banging had recently stopped, but neither Aaoki nor Duo wanted to go check if it was safe to go in.

Either way, they were both spared the trouble when there was a knock on the door. Duo quickly went to answer it, only to wishing that he hadn't when it turned out to be his stony captain followed by his recon officer.

"You clean up well, Maxwell," Heero stated. Duo's cheeks tinged pink, not sure whether or not to be upset or happy that Heero thought he looked good.

"Well, I look the part at least. Now we just have to pretend we're madly in love with each other. Shouldn't be too hard for you," Duo smiled flirtatiously. Heero's eyes widened, but he quickly regained he composure.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night," Heero pushed past Duo, looking for Wufei. He looked at Aaoki, who pointed to room next door. Heero knocked on the door.

"I hope you're decent Chang," Heero opened the door.

The room was an utter mess. There were vases lying on the floor, picture frames hanging by their corners and mirrors smashed. It was almost like a miniature world war three had taken place in the room. Even with the terribly messy appearance of the room, the most prominent feature had to be the way Wufei had been tied to a chair with Itami and Mei standing around him looking pleased with themselves. Duo almost pitied him… _almost_. Karma was a wonderful thing, especially when it hit full swing and got revenge without having to do any work. Yes, Duo was still sore about all the training sessions Wufei made him go through; they fucking hurt!

"Are you ready Madame Ambassador?" Trowa asked from behind Heero. Wufei was going undercover as an ambassador from China, and Trowa was his (ahem, her) loyal bodyguard. As such, Wufei had his hair let out of its usually tight pony tail so it went down to his shoulders. He was decked in a traditional Chinese dress that was red with a black floral design.

"I will kill you all! I swear it on my honor!" Wufei spoke poisonously.

"As long as you do it after the mission. Itami, will you get him out of there; we need to catch a plane," Heero looked at the silver haired woman. She slowly began to untie the rope. Wufei glared at her while rubbing his wrists.

"The next time I get you in the ring you'll be begging for mercy."

"I'll be looking forward to it… Madame Ambassador," The woman smirked. She narrowly dodged a punch from Wufei.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Due to technical difficulties ("Dammit I can't find my cell phone charger!") and complete lack of foresight ("What do you mean you have no idea where the airport is?!") platoon one was almost late for their flight. Of course the entire team received a lecture to end all lectures by "holier that thou" Captain Yuy, which left everyone grumbling and in a bad mood. But by the time Duo reached his seat in the plane he was thoroughly exhausted. He'd almost pummeled some guy for trying to cop a feel, but Heero (acting as his fiancé) had duly stepped in and glared at the man until he was nothing but a quivering pile of goo. Not to add the general stress of traveling and the fact that his teammates were just about as fun as watching plants grow, made for a bored and tired Duo.

When he was sixteen, he probably would've reveled in the idea of even being a plane. Now, Duo wanted nothing more than a soft bed to sleep in. Not that being in a plane was going to stop him from sleeping, but it was completely uncomfortable and hard to find a good position in the cramped seats of the plane. None the less, Duo was knocked out before the flight attendants began their routine of explaining where the exits were.

Beside the doctor, Heero looked at the rookie with something akin to fondness. During the one week Duo had been recruited for the Elite Guard, life had never been quite the same. Granted it'd become more lively as the doctor was easily the most excitable and bouncy member of platoon one. The mornings were filled with a half asleep Duo who slurred his words together and bumped into walls as if he needed glasses. After he received his morning coffee, the doctor was up and about, checking the hospital inventory, doing paperwork and filing or training with one of the senior members of his platoon. And even though Duo was the least experienced among his team, that didn't stop him from bantering with his fellow teammates. Heero had lost count of the amount of times that Wufei, Trowa or even himself had become the butt of Duo's jokes. Duo had practically brought life to the team, and changed it so that the idea of work before Duo was excruciatingly boring and irritating to thinks about. Duo became the soul of the platoon, something that had been sorely lacking in this all work and no play crowd.

Duo had brought the team together and made them closer. Not to say that they didn't like each other before Duo came, but it was just rare that they would talk to each other outside of work. They limited themselves to being coworkers and kept it as a strictly work relationship. There was no companionship in platoon one.

Due to that, Duo's presence had been obstructive at first. Heero had tried to distance himself from the vivacious man. He remained cold and unfeeling, refusing to rise to Duo's jokes and reprimanding him for not taking his role as a medic seriously enough. But before he realized it, the admonishments Duo would receive became routine, a playful dance. Heero really didn't know how to react to Duo's ever growing playfulness, so he kept his stone façade. But on the inside he was slowly warming up to the doctor, so much that he began to enjoy their training sessions and banter in the office, much to his own surprise.

_Though I might have taken it too far this morning, _Heero thought. Looking back on what he'd done, or rather what he'd come close to doing, Heero cringed. It was completely unprofessional not to mention the fact that he'd probably scared Duo off. Now he probably thought that he had a perverted Captain who wanted nothing but to get into his pants. Even so, that wasn't the most irritating fact. No, the most irritating fact was that Heero didn't understand what possessed him to pull something so stupid in the first place.

The captain didn't want to claim it was "all in the heat of the moment". That would make it seem like he was only playing with the medic. To tell the truth, Heero really hadn't been thinking when he'd fallen on top of Duo. As soon as he looked at Duo sprawled on the floor, he'd started to remember memories of the past. These were memories that he'd tried to let go, to come to terms with so that he could achieve peace. However, it seemed that he'd managed no such thing, as the memories came back full force with haunting clarity.

Heero had gotten so wrapped up in his past that he'd found himself almost kissing Duo in hopes that he would be able to return to the past if he did and pretend that all was like it was back then, that he didn't die. Thank goodness for Mei coming in at the right time, or he might have ended up doing something he regretted. Heero looked at the cross dressing doctor, a sigh escaping his lips. Hopefully he could apologize in time to make sure that Duo didn't begin to completely avoid him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

After the plane ride, Heero herded the platoon to baggage claim, cursing why the private jets had to be inspected today of all days. Baggage claim was swarming with people looking for their belongings and yelling at one another. It was far too much noise than Heero cared for, and from the scowl on Wufei's face and the way Trowa kept sighing, they obviously both felt the same. Only Duo seemed unaffected by it, though he was tired and looked like at any moment he was going to drop and fall asleep.

After navigating their way through the throngs of people and offering their fake passports, they met in front of the airport.

"As of now, we will separate into pairs. Communication will be kept strictly via the untraceable lines on the cell phones. I expect mission reports by Wednesday morning. The mission will be completed by Friday. Understood?" Heero explained. The three other men nodded.

"Alright then, Madame Ambassador if you would step this way," Trowa held his arm out, motioning the direction Wufei was to go in. Surprisingly, the Asian man didn't say anything and began walking in a dignified manner. Despite his previous anger towards his disguise, Wufei was in mission mode now and nothing else mattered but the results.

"Let's go honey," Heero held out his hand for Duo to take. The doctor stared at the hand as if it were poisoned and then looked up.

"Are you sick?" Duo asked. Heero rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Duo's waist. He leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "The mission, Maxwell, is of the highest importance right now. You will play along and you _will_ make it convincing or so help me you will not be safe next time we train. Is that clear, rookie?"

Duo glared, "Of course, sweetheart."

"Well then let's go," Heero led Duo into a cab. He told the cab driver the directions (in French of course), while Duo cursed whoever was having fun playing around with his life. There was no trace of the Heero from this morning, the one that had actually responded to his playfulness, the one that had almost kissed him…

Duo mentally kicked himself. He was not supposed to be thinking about that at all! He was not ready to think about the way Heero made his heart race and his knees weak. Besides, it didn't matter how… attractive (drop dead gorgeous was a more appropriate term) Heero was. The captain refused talk with him other that to yell at him. It had left the braided man feeling pissed and inadequate many a time. Despite that, Duo continued to try and get a rise out of his ever so stoic captain. He came back every time and continued to try and make nice with Heero. Besides, it wouldn't work out if Heero disliked him and they had to work together.

Duo smiled as he realized that Heero's arm hadn't left his waist. Maybe the situation wasn't so hopeless after all.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo was rather proud of himself. Heero still hadn't bitten his head off! They'd managed to continue their charade up until they reached the hotel and now Heero was checking them into their hotel. Wufei and Trowa were staying at a classier and more upscale hotel (nothing but the best for "Madame Ambassador").

It was almost scary how good Heero was at this sort of thing. He acted the part of the totally in love fiancé so well, it was as if he was a professional actor sometimes. From the small smiles to the loving whispers in his ears, Heero was the perfect fiancé and then some. Duo felt a pang in his heart when he had to remind himself that is wasn't really and that it was all a ploy. And of course Duo couldn't get his heart to stop beating so fast it was going to leap out of his chest.

"Come on love," Heero smiled and grabbed both their suitcases.

"You don't have to carry both of them… dear," Duo added hastily. Heero gave him a knee-weakening smile.

"I wouldn't want you to strain yourself," Heero continued to go up the stairs to their room. Duo sighed and followed his "fiancé".

As soon as Heero and Duo closed the door behind them, the façade they'd been putting on dropped. Heero put down the suitcases and began looking for any sort of surveillance devices that could've been put in the room. Duo went to the mirror and began to braid his hair into its normal style. He began to look through his suit case for something more suitable to wear when Heero stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"You can't change yet. If someone ever comes into the room unannounced and you're caught, the mission goes out the window," Heero said. Duo scowled.

"So I have to stay in drag for the remainder of the mission? The hell?" Duo was not pleased.

"I told you, the mission is our first priority. And if it means that you have to dress in a skirt and high heels for a week then you will do it. Or are too insecure about your image?" Heero said snidely. Duo positively glowered with rage.

"At least I care enough about my teammates not to go kissing them out of the blue and then act like nothing happened."

"I didn't kiss you. Besides even if I had, it wouldn't have meant anything to me," Heero mentally yelled at himself. He did not mean to say that! Especially not after seeing the slightly wounded look that came on his face.

"Heero Yuy, you are a cold unfeeling bastard," With that Duo stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door. Heero was glad Duo still had enough common sense not to leave the room. The telltale signs of a shower being turned on reverberated throughout the suite and suddenly Heero realized that he'd just succeeded in pushing Duo away yet again.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo scrubbed his hair as if there was no tomorrow. He poured all of his feelings into washing his hair, his nails barely scraping against his skull. Duo only stopped when the hurt he felt left and his skull burned with the force of his misery. He felt like an idiot for letting Heero get to him like that, for letting him see just how upset he was.

_"I didn't kiss you. Besides even if I had, it wouldn't have meant anything to me."_

Obviously the kiss meant absolutely nothing to the icy captain. So much for hoping the captain was opening up to him. Heero didn't give a damn about him. The only thing on his mind was the mission and it was going to stay that way if Heero's prior comments were anything to go by.

Duo rinsed out his hair and continued on to wash the rest of his body. Heero didn't matter anyway. If the mission was the only thing on his mind he wasn't worth having as a friend. He didn't need him anyway. Even if he was attractive, so what? It didn't matter if he was going to be a jackass.

Duo proceeded to dry himself and was about to leave the bathroom when he realized Heero was on the other side of the door. Duo almost considered staying in the bathroom and camping out, until he shook his head, chiding himself for letting Heero dictate his actions like this. He pushed the door open, not even sparing Heero a second glance. He began looking for his suitcase for his underwear (yes underwear as in briefs… he couldn't wear boxers under a dress…).

"Maxwell." Duo paid Heero no mind as he riffled through his things, having successfully located a pair of underwear and now a t-shirt to sleep in.

"Maxwell." The name was repeated in a firmer tone. Duo continued to ignore his captain and began to get dressed. He could feel Heero's stare on his back, so Duo quickly got changed to end the awkwardness.

"Duo!" Heero sounded pissed. Duo turned around to look at the Japanese man, his expression indifferent.

"Yes captain?" Duo looked at his captain. Heero looked unnerved by the way Duo was acting.

"Look, I want to…" Heero trailed off, uncertain.

"Want to what? Fire me? Tell me I'm useless? Whatever it is, tell me so I can go to sleep," Duo crossed his arms across his chest. Heero sighed, frowning.

"I want to apologize."

"Look, if you don't mean it then don't bother. I don't need you to apologize to make me feel better," Duo looked away in disdain.

"No! I'm sorry for the things I said earlier. I didn't mean them. I was just… cranky," Heero didn't want to say he was unsure about sure how to act around him. It made him sound like he was off his rocker or unsociable. Though truthfully, he was making up excuses right now to cover for it.

"Bullshit. You weren't cranky. You can admit that you never liked me. I really don't care," Duo ignored the way his mind whispered _'Liar'_.

"That's not it! I'm not really used to having someone like you around. I mean you're so emotional that I don't really know how to respond to you. I've never had to work with someone who was… so out there. I just say what I usually say to everyone else. I apologize if I made you feel like you were inadequate…" Heero couldn't really believe what was coming out of his mouth. True he'd thought this, but he'd never planned on actually telling Duo that. Even so, it apparently turned out to be the right thing to say, because Duo's expression softened slightly in understanding.

"I guess I can understand given your winning personality and charm. But you're going to have to make up for it big time. Prove that you will be more that my boss and will be my friend. I'm not willing to work with someone that I don't know. Believe it or not we live together, so I want to be friends" He paused. "Did that just sound cheesy or what," Duo shook his head at his own words. "But whatever. Make it up to me. Prove that you can be someone I can trust."

Heero could hear the challenge in Duo's voice. Heero nodded. Duo smiled.

"Good. Glad we got that out of the way. Now, I want to go to sleep; I'm exhausted," Duo stretched.

"I'll brush my teeth and join you for bed," Heero began searching through his suitcase for his toiletries. Duo blinked.

"Join me for bed…?" Suddenly Duo realized that there was just one bed in their room. "We're sleeping in the same bed?"

"We are engaged after all," Heero smirked. Duo blushed hotly and glared at his "fiancé".

"I swear, if you try anything, you won't live to see the end of this mission," Duo threatened.

"Of course honey. Besides, were not supposed to have sex before the wedding," Heero walked into the bathroom, leaving Duo to stare at their bed. It was scary how Heero could joke with a straight face…


	7. Time for a game of 20 questions

Chi: Hello all, guess what! I'm not dead!  
Bo: Haha, although we are a little late, feel free to blame the volcano in Iceland.  
Chi: So, I wrote the chapter extra long, for your reading pleasure :) … granted we still have readers.  
Bo: Oh well, enjoy the chapter and drop a review! 3

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 7: Time for a game of 20 questions

_"Heero, do you believe in forever?"_

_ Heero looked away from the fireworks and turned to his companion. The other man's gaze remained fixed on the sky, completely entranced by the colorful flowers erupting in the night._

_ "Why do you ask?" Heero questioned, perplexed. The man shook his head, closing mesmerizing indigo eyes._

"_No reason in particular. Just a thought," He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously."Sorry. That was a weird question."_

_Heero's normally cold blue eyes softened. "No, not at all. I was just wondering what brought this on."_

"_Well I was thinking, you know. About the future. About us. And if something happened to one of us. Because eventually one of us is going to die, whether it is alone or together…" The man moved his orange bangs out of his face and sighed. "So in that case 'forever' is an unattainable concept."_

_Heero stared at his partner, confused. He was usually never this depressing. Maybe something was bothering him?_

"_But I don't need 'forever' in mortality because I know that'll always love you. Because isn't that what we promised each other? 'Till death do us part? It may not be on record or on paper, but that's what you told me one year ago when you said you loved me. 'Even if death do us part, I will love you'," The man looked up at Heero and smiled. Heero couldn't help but respond with one of his own, as he wrapped an arm around his companion's waist._

"_You're a hopeless romantic, Hikaru," Hikaru laughed and placed his head on Heero's shoulder._

"_That may be so but you wouldn't love me any other way."_

_Heero tightened his arm around Hikaru and kissed his forehead, before laying his own head on top of Hikaru's._

"_I will love 'till death do us apart and beyond." Hikaru's and Heero's eyes met and they both moved in to kiss, though just as their lips were about to meet, fire burst around them and Hikaru vanished._

* * *

Heero woke with a start. That was probably the most vivid dream he'd had in a while. He'd almost thought it was real. That is… until he woke up.

Heero moved his hand to rub his face, but it was trapped beneath something warm and heavy. He tried to wrench his arm free, but it wouldn't budge. Heero decided to actually look and see what the problem was.

Apparently Heero moved in his sleep because he was pretty sure that he and Duo had fallen asleep on opposite sides of the bed. Now, Duo was snuggled up to his side, Heero's arm wrapped around his waist (the same way it'd been wrapped around Hikaru's). Heero would've pushed Duo off his arm, but there was something about Duo's sleeping face that made him want to stay and watch for a couple more minutes.

"_Heero, do you believe in forever?"_

Hikaru's words rang clear in Heero's mind. It was almost as if they were meant to be a reminder of his past love. Of the pleasant times they'd spent together and of the promise he'd made. Though it wasn't as if Heero forgot about Hikaru. He'd been grieving everyday for the past two years.

Since Hikaru, Heero had never felt attracted to anyone else. There was a time when even the suggestion of finding someone else would send him into a fit of rage. He would begin to throw things and scream. He did drink himself into oblivion a couple of times, but that was only when it simply got too hard to think about his dead lover. He eventually got better, but Heero vehemently swore that he would never love another just as he did with Hikaru.

But lo and behold, two years after Hikaru's death Duo Maxwell waltzed into Heero's life and changed everything. The routines he'd developed, his relationships with his co-workers, everything changed to accommodate one Duo Maxwell. With these changes, Heero had been forced to create a sort of tolerance for the sunshine that was Duo.

This tolerance manifested itself in many ways. Firstly by sitting with the other three members of his platoon in order to avoid conversing directly with the braided medic. Heero made sure to hold small conversations with Duo to avoid having more than what was needed later. And with the destruction of his previous routines came the creation of these new ones. However Heero didn't realize what Duo was doing to him from the inside out.

Only now were these changes being made more apparent and only now was Heero beginning to realize them. The memories of Hikaru that had resurfaced surprised Heero with their appearance because before Heero had deftly blocked out all past recollections of his dead lover. Before they'd been too painful to think about, but now those feelings had changed. There was still the same nostalgia and sadness, but there was no overwhelming depression or gaping sense of loss as he'd felt two years ago with Hikaru's death.

This had Heero wondering what else was changing inside him, but also what it was about Duo that evoked all these changes.

Unfortunately for Heero, staring makes people uncomfortable and that's just what he'd been doing for the past ten minutes. So Duo naturally began to wake up as soon as he felt Heero's intense eyes on him for the last five minutes. His brown eyebrows furrowed and hypnotizing indigo eyes began to open. The peaceful expression that had been on Duo's face was slowly being replaced with sleepy confusion. He blinked a couple of times, looking around the room before settling on the Prussian blue eyes that were watching him. Duo stared back at Heero for approximately two minutes before he took in the arm around his waist and the way he was snuggled up to Heero and actually realized what was going on.

"Heero Yuy…. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!?" Duo positively screeched, as he sat up. Heero was quick to cover Duo's mouth before he began screaming louder.

"The mission Maxwell. We don't need any morning visitors asking what's going on," Heero whispered menacingly. Duo's eyebrow twitched and the medic nodded in compliance. Heero removed his hand watching Duo warily.

"Well then, _honey_, may I ask what happened to no sex before the wedding?" Duo asked testily. Heero rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I tried to rape you or anything."

"Well I wasn't awake for that part now was I?" Duo frowned.

"I'm sure you would've woken up if I tried to deflower you in your sleep," Heero rolled his eyes.

"Right, because your skills are really that good."

"Damn straight."

Duo stared in wonder at Heero.

"Are we actually engaging witty banter?" Duo asked. Heero got up out of bed and stretched.

"I don't know, are we?" was Heero's cryptic reply before he entered the bathroom.

Duo sighed and shook his head. Honestly, with all the shocks Heero was giving him he _might_ just be sent to an early grave. Well, while Heero the Enigma was preening, Duo might as well get dressed.

Duo unzipped his bag, blanching at what he found. There was literally enough lace to begin a small factory and be well off. Obviously someone in Platoon 3 had a thing for lace and had seen it fit to fill his bag full of it.

Duo hadn't made his own bag, only his personal one that held his mission equipment and pajamas. He'd only prepared his toiletries, with some underwear and socks, before he'd handed it off to Platoon 3 to prepare whatever necessities he would need for his disguise. Apparently the "necessities" he would need included various lacy lingerie and clothes.

Duo began rifling through the bag, throwing various artides of clothing over his shoulders, only stopping when he found a grey envelope. It smelled of Itami's vanilla perfume which already made Duo weary of its contents. Against common sense he opened it. Surprisingly, there were no explosions or releases of poisonous gases. There was only a solitary, innocent note.

Hi Duo! We put all your makeup in with your toothbrush and stuff. Remember that foundation goes first; that's why it's called "foundation" . **Don't forget that you put eyeliner first, then eye shadow, then mascara. And there's an order to the eye shadow colors. It should be obvious but I taped it to the case anyway. Has anyone ever told you that you have really pretty eyes? Well let me tell you that I—**_I have now hijacked the pen: Fear me …Itami, Mei and I prepared your clothes. We banked on you having a sense of color coordination, though we weren't sure on how much to put in, so we packed you a little bit of everything. I'm sorry there's so much lace; Itami has so much of it in her wardrobe, so she figured she'd put it all to a good cause. Better you than Wufei (Mei had her way with him!) Have fun, rookie!_

_Platoon 3_

The note switched handwriting twice with Itami's archaic block handwriting starting out, before Mei probably got too impatient and stole the pen. Her bubbly writing continued until Aaoki took it, sensing that she was about to begin ranting. Her elegant cursive finished the letter as she signed it for all three of them.

Duo earnestly hoped that their missions were more coordinated then their spastic letter writing. Duo shrugged his shoulders and continued going through his bag. He was lucky that they didn't get into his personal bag with his pajamas or they would've packed him only a skimpy nightgown to sleep in. Duo winced when he actually found a navy blue silk (and covered in lace) nightgown.

Much to Duo's chagrin, Heero chose this moment to leave the bathroom. He curiously picked up a bright red pair of panties and raised an eyebrow.

"I had no idea you were so into your disguise, Maxwell," Heero looked at the panties and then at Duo. The doctor's face flushed as he stalked over to Heero and snatched the panties from him.

"Our fellow platoon thought it would be funny to fill my bag up to the brim with lacy lingerie and the like," Duo walked back over to his suitcase and picked up a dress that a gothic Lolita would probably wear. "I'm a florist from a small mountain village, _not_ a strip club whore!" Duo dropped the dress and continued to look through the bag. Heero smirked and went to his own suitcase to look for something to wear.

Once Duo had pretty much torn his bag apart looking for something to wear, he managed to find a white shirt with a navy blue ribbon and a matching skirt with the opposite design. The half-sleeves were lacy and flared out, but it was better than some of the other attires he'd seen. He grabbed the outfit, all of his makeup and his toiletries and went into the bathroom.

After fifteen minutes of trying to figure out how to put together his disguise such that no one would look at him and wonder why there was a man in a skirt, Duo came out as Mademoiselle Chateau once more. Duo stared enviously at Heero's simple long sleeved shirt and pants while Heero smirked.

"Anything the matter, sweetheart?" Heero asked mockingly, in the part of his fiancé.

"Just contemplating the unfairness of the world, dear" Duo responded with a smile. "Anyway, what's the game plan for today, Captain?"

Heero took out his laptop. "Mission reports are due Wednesday morning. I expect to execute the mission Thursday," Heero began loading various schematics of the factory that was supposed to be infiltrated. Duo frowned.

"So what? You're going to lock yourself inside with your laptop? What about breakfast?"

"I'll grab something later. It's best to get these plans done as soon as possible," Heero didn't look up from his laptop.

"God Yuy, you have two friggin' days to get them done. It takes maybe a couple of hours to finish the plans. You don't need to bury yourself in work the first day you get here," Duo grumbled.

"The only reason we're here is to destroy the factory. That's it. We go in, steal the information, blow the place to smithereens and leave. The time before it is all prep. I will not have you mess up on the mission because you were too lazy to look up the layout of the damn factory," Heero looked up to glare at Duo before returning to his work. Duo was becoming aggravated really fast. He walked in front of Heero and placed his hands on his hips.

"No wonder you don't have any friends! You clearly don't know how to enjoy life and relax. I swear your entire world revolves around work!" Duo slammed Heero's laptop shut and looked at him straight in the eyes. "I'm taking you out and we are not going to think about work. I don't care if I have to drag you kicking and screaming; we are not going to stay in this room for five days straight."

Heero's eyes turned piercing, "I'm not interested in frolicking around when there is work to be done. As Captain, it is my duty to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the operation. What will you say when a comrade is wounded because we weren't sufficiently prepared?"

"I'm not asking you to completely stop working! Just, for once, I'd like us to enjoy ourselves since I've been working straight through the week and you probably have for however long you've been in the Guard," Duo didn't back down. "Or was what you said yesterday nothing but meaningless trash to placate me?"

It was then that Heero realized that Duo had effectively trapped him. Saying yes would mean that he was turning his back on what he'd said to Duo last night. It was practically a promise to change that he'd made to Duo and breaking that would probably further damage their already fragile relationship. But there was more.

"_Prove to me that you can be someone I can trust."_

Duo had just presented Heero with a challenge, something that Heero rarely experienced, and Heero was not about to back down; though that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Fine. When do you want to… go out," Heero sighed. Duo beamed.

"We can start right now with breakfast!" Duo shoved Heero's laptop aside and grabbed Heero's wrist, dragging his icy Captain out of the room, a smile on his face.

* * *

After forcing Heero to actually eat breakfast ("You're not going to eat until lunch, so eat now!"), Duo dragged Heero out for some "fun time". Since neither of them knew the village, they took to walking around the village square and admiring the extensive marketplace. Once they'd stopped for lunch, Duo decided to let Heero do what he wanted (which did not include going back to the hotel and drowning himself in work). However, Heero was unable to make up his mind ("Duo Maxwell, I don't bloody care what we do!") so Duo decided they would go see the circus that was in town. And since Duo had absolutely insisted on seeing the ocean before they returned to their lair, they'd gotten ice cream and gone to the beach afterwards.

Of course the only let down was that they had to stay in disguise for their entire trip. This entailed lots of handholding and pet names, which made Duo cringe every time he heard them. Besides that, Heero was just about as fun to converse with as watching plants grow was interesting, and even then the plants would've probably won, hands down. It was like pulling teeth, just as when Duo had first met the stern captain. So Duo had no choice but to force him into it.

"So, honey, in order for you to become a friend of Duo Maxwell, I will now interrogate you into oblivion," Duo said, partially in his role as Mademoiselle Chateau. He handed Heero a chocolate ice cream cone, happily devouring his own strawberry one.

"Is that really necessary?" Heero asked. Duo gave Heero a look.

"Of course it is! I know practically everything about my close friends. Ask me anything about Quatre, I know it!"

"Favorite color?"

"It's this weird sunburned orange, and that was out of the blue," Duo responded.

"Just checking. Though I hope this interrogation works both ways?" Heero questioned. Duo looked out at the ocean.

"If you want. Anything's fair game."

"Alright then, you can start."

"Fine then. Full name?"

"Heero Yuy. And you?"

"Duo Maxwell. No secrets there. Birthplace?"

"L1 colony clusters. Birthplace?"

"Stop piggybacking off my questions!" Duo whined.

"You never said I couldn't" Heero smirked. Duo pouted.

"Spoilsport…"

"Just answer the question."

"L2 colony clusters. How long have you been in the Elite Guard?"

"Two years, since it was originally formed. There were only two platoons at first and I was the recon officer with Aaoki in Platoon two," Heero explained.

"Huh, so you and Aaoki have been there since it was formed?" Duo asked.

"Wufei was there too. He was the original strategist of Platoon one."

"You position stealer you," Duo nudged Heero with his elbow. Heero rolled his eyes.

"It's my turn to ask a question. Why did you decide to become a doctor?" Heero looked at Duo. The medic was staring thoughtfully at his ice-cream cone as if it would provide him with the answer to whatever he was pondering.

"My… my best friend died. There was an outbreak of the plague on L2 and my best friend, Solo, died. I…I couldn't do anything as he suffered alone. I wanted so badly to win against death but I was powerless," Duo blinked back the tears. "So I wanted to arm myself for the fight against death, and I became a doctor."

"Death isn't always something you can win against. Sometimes it comes in, destroys everything then leaves a disaster in its wake," Heero said, remembering Hikaru's death. There was a period of time when he'd just stopped living. It took a while for him to snap out of it, and even then he still wasn't back to normal. It just… hurt so much to think that the person he'd been closest to, the person that he'd loved, was dead.

Duo nodded. "I know that. In my childhood I'd seen so much death it was impossible to escape. Sometimes I will be powerless and won't be able to do anything, but I'll start by doing what I can, even if it may not be good enough… Is that too idealistic of me?" Duo gazed at Heero.

"No. It is by doing what we can that we gain experience and grow. And with that experience we can discover new things that will better life. Essentially what you want is to protect life, no? Then you're on the right track," Heero replied. Duo smiled; not his usual cheeky grin, but an honestly happy one.

"And, Maxwell?"

"Yeah?"

"You have ice-cream on your lip."

Duo swiped at his upper lip, annoyed when he saw the strawberry ice-cream on his hand.

"I've been divulging the secrets of my life while you've been laughing at me because I have an ice-cream mustache. You asshole," Duo grumbled in faux anger. Heero shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't want to interrupt you."

"How considerate…"

"Ask your question already."

"Alright, alright. What are you afraid of?" Duo asked, a wicked smirk on his face.

"Afraid of? Nothing I should think," Heero answered crossing his arms. Duo snorted.

"Everyone has something they're afraid of. C'mon what is it? Heights? Spiders?" Duo pried. Heero rolled his eyes and thought hard.

"Losing those that are close to me," Heero said. Duo nodded.

"I can sympathize with that. You're turn."

"How bad was it on L2?" Heero became curious about Duo's life since he mentioned Solo. L2 didn't carry a good name as a poverty and crime stricken colony. As such, it didn't really stick that Duo came from L2 and managed to become a doctor, a profession that required much money and a good education.

"L2? It's not the best place to grow up as a child. The economy was in severe condition. High crime, lax police system, not enough food to go around. The whole colony was in chaos and couldn't be fixed because the government was corrupt. And coupled with the sanitation problems, it made for a disaster of a colony.

I don't remember my parents, only the gang of street orphans I ran with. Once the plague wiped them all out when I was thirteen, I wandered around until I met my mentor at the age of fourteen… I think," Duo scratched his head in thought. "Of course this was all a while back so I don't remember everything exactly. But my mentor placed me on an advanced learning curriculum which earned me a scholarship to an advanced program at Harvard Med through an exam I took to skip a few years of study. I met Quatre Winner there who became a close friend of mine and the rest is history…"

"That's quite the miracle story…" Heero stared at the sun setting over the horizon. Duo nodded.

"I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I got out of that hellhole unlike the thousand that are trapped there on the poverty line," Duo shook his head and smiled. "But enough about me! I'm the one who's supposed to be interrogating you!"

Heero continued to stare thoughtfully towards the horizon. Duo pouted.

"C'mon Captain, don't ignore me. What, you thinking about canceling our marriage?" Duo poked Heero jokingly. Heero shook his head and looked at Duo, who was smiling brilliantly. With the sunset going on in the background and the sun shining on Duo's hair, turning it auburn, made Duo quite the image. Seeing Duo like this, in a new light, almost made him understand what had possessed him in the gym that day.

"_Heero, do you believe in forever?"_

Hikaru's words came back with haunting clarity. There seemed to be a double meaning to his words, though Heero couldn't figure out for the life of him what it could be. Even so, the likelihood of Hikaru's words having a double meaning was low considering the words were just a recollection, a memory of what was… and what will no longer be. Duo's voice brought Heero back to reality.

"I haven't even asked you some of the most basic questions yet! What's your favorite color?" Duo blinked at Heero curiously.

"Indigo." Heero replied almost breathlessly. Duo raised an eyebrow.

"Any reason for that?

Heero thought back to Hikaru's indigo eyes that he would often drown himself in. He looked back at Duo, straight into his eyes and realized that they were the same.

"It… is connected to someone I was close to."

Duo looked like he was about to question further before he caught eye of the colorful sunset. He seemed almost entranced by the display of color.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" Heero almost said "yes", looking at Duo's face illuminated by the sun. Instead Heero shook his head and looked at the sandy beach.

"It's not often that one gets to experience a wonder like this."

"Aren't you glad I dragged you out?" Duo nudged Heero cheekily. Even so, Heero smiled softly and answered;

"Yes"

* * *

Wufei didn't bother looking up from his laptop when someone crawled in through the balcony door, "I hope that you checked before you started climbing up the wall. It's enough that you're coming in off-hours; you wouldn't want to be called on false charges of breaking and entering."

"I just spent the entire day 'breaking and entering' as you put it. And you know I'm careful," Trowa brushed the dust off his shoulders. "Besides this hotel is hardly protected at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Madam Ambassador got killed."

"Well that's what my loyal bodyguard is for. How's the factory look?"

"Easy pickings. I honestly don't know why they're bothering with sending us here. The factory's not going to suddenly start manufacturing mobile suites."

"Still, we have such little information to go on that we'll go at what we can find. Anyway, it'll be a good beginner mission for our rookie, judging that he's still in one piece after staying with Heero for five days," Wufei saved his mission plans and sent them to his untraceable cell phone. He looked at the time, deciding to send them tomorrow because 11:42 PM was not a human hour to be receiving text messages.

"You almost sound worried," Trowa smirked. Wufei frowned.

"Certainly not. I'd just rather have our medic capable of rational thought and not in a vegetable state."

"I still think you're going soft on him."

"After the closet incident? Not so much."

"Are you still sore over that?"

"Not really sore. I just believe he wasted a lot of valuable time with that stunt."

"Time for what? Paperwork? It's not like he doesn't do enough of that already." Trowa rolled his eyes.

"Honestly though, he should take his work more seriously," Wufei snapped his laptop shut.

"Whatever you say… Waffles."

Wufei sent his best glare in Trowa's direction before locking himself in the bathroom to get ready for bed. Trowa laughed, Wufei was always fun to wind up.

* * *

Bo: A quick note, chapter eight is all written and not typed. I might feel inclined to type it faster if I get lots of awesome reviews :) Think about that. Think hard.


	8. Mission Mode

Chi: Wow… I'm actually keeping up… well semi-keeping up with my updates… The worlds gonna end!

Bo: Melodramatic much? But yes, here is a sort-of early chapter courtesy of us! We would like to thank all of our reviewers that have kept up with us until this point! All your reviews bring a smile to my face!

Chi: Yes and I will be leaving tomorrow on vacation for a month. But to bridge this gap, chapter 9 has already been typed and only requires some editing before it will be posted here. And I will be writing while I am on vacation (I'm bringing my laptop with me) so chapter 10 will be ready to go by the time I come back in August.

Bo: So please review and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 8: Mission Mode

"Haha, it has been sent!" Duo cried triumphantly, holding his cell phone in the air. Heero's laptop pinged in response, having received the sent mail. The captain opened the e-mail attachment, ignoring Duo's rather enthusiastic e-mail charged with emoticons. It was surprisingly neat with annotations in text boxes on the schematics and color coded. It wasn't a long report; only two and a half pages.

Duo materialized over Heero's shoulder and stared at his own report. "I wasn't exactly sure what was expected so I just noted optimal deployment spots and formations placing health at risk or those that prioritize safety. I hope it was helpful." Heero looked thoughtful as he looked over the different formations. Duo seemed to have some good insight on the unit's strengths regarding who would be most at risk in the operation. The only drawback to his speculations were that Duo had limited knowledge of the actual facility; something only Trowa had, based off the reports his vice-Captain had sent him.

"This is good. I'll probably have the final plan done by tonight," Heero went back to Trowa's report for reference and opened a new document, as he felt a slender hand on his shoulder.

"Don't stress out too much Captain," Duo said. Heero turned around to look at Duo.

"Shouldn't you be the one stressing out, rookie?" Heero smirked. "This isn't my first mission, now is it?"

"Nah, the stress won't settle in 'till a couple hours before the mission is supposed to actually start," Duo stretched his arms over his head. "Anyway, I'm gonna go out for a walk."

"Just make sure you're in disguise before you leave," Heero warned, though his eyes did not leave the screen of his laptop. Duo sighed; at this point it was rather futile to get Heero's attention. Duo spent all of his morning trying to engage Heero in conversation but the man had dutifully ignored him in favor of his work. Truthfully, Duo had been lucky to be able to get Heero out of the room on Monday.

Duo stopped in front of the mirror to make sure his disguise was convincing. Hair brushed to perfection? Check. Make up in place? Check. Blue, turtle-necked, short sleeved sweater and black, slightly lacy, knee-length skirt? Check. And his sandals were by the door.

Tightening the black and blue stripped ribbon in his hair and taking the key to the room, Duo slipped into his sandals and waved to Heero on the bed.

"See you later, dear!"

Heero rolled his eyes, "Have fun, _cutie pie_," Heero smiled at the disgusted look Duo gave him.

"Really Heero?" Duo said and he closed the door behind him. Heero chuckled to himself and returned to his work.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo had spent all of today writing his mission report and quite frankly, he was tired. After spending half an hour figuring out what the hell a medic was supposed to report on, he asked Heero how long it was supposed to be, and got right to work. The report came out rather short for all the time he put into it. He'd looked up all the members in the health profiles he'd been given to file away and decided at the last moment to take them with him, just in case he would need them, should someone get injured. Good thing too, or else he would've been lost on what to do on his report.

After analyzing each profile, he began noting spots on the schematic that that contained a high risk for injury and that he should be on standby. In response to that he included different formations that could be effective with their pros and cons.

Duo had been worried about handing the report in, but Heero hadn't said anything so he'd assumed that what he'd done was right. Besides, Duo was getting antsy. He was already rather proud of his own ability to stay in that room for five hours straight in complete silence, but there was a limit and Duo needed to get out. Duo didn't mind that it was already getting late; in fact he was hoping to catch the same sunset from yesterday.

Duo hurried down the street nodding hello to those he saw. This village was a place he could easily fall in love with. He'd been born a street rat and brought up in the slums. Despite the fact that city life was the only thing that he'd ever known to this day, the serenity of the village relaxed and calmed him. The people were so kind and life was so simple that he really wished he would've had more time to stay and enjoy the village life here.

Instead of staying by the wall Heero and he had been, Duo decided to descend onto the beach. He walked into the water and watched the waves go over his toes. He flicked his normally bound hair over his shoulder and let it flow down his back, enjoying the way the wind blew it back.

Duo had only visited the beach once before when Quatre and he had gone on a day trip at the blonde's insistence. Even though Duo had been reluctant because he couldn't swim (the most water he'd ever seen in one place was in his bathtub), it had turned out to be one of the most fun things he'd ever done.

"So we find the loving couple minus one? Lovers spat?"

Duo started from his thoughts and turned towards the voice. There stood an elderly couple, smiling serenely.

"Ah…"

"It's alright. My husband and I overheard you two yesterday. We used to live in America before coming here for our retirement. It's always entertaining to see what people say because they think no one can understand them." The old woman's smile became broader.

"I… see…" Duo responded, at a loss for words. He wondered what exactly the couple had heard, but it didn't seem to look to threatening. The woman came up beside him and elbowed him.

"So? Why are you all by your lonesome? Argue over the color of the curtains? Don't like his mother?"

"Oh, not at all! Something came up in his work that he had to deal with so I decided to take a walk by myself. The peace and quiet is nice here," Duo tried to sound like Madamoiselle Chateau though he hadn't done much talking as her. It was strangely hard to act like someone who didn't exist.

"Hm. And you're okay with your boyfriend leaving you like that?" The old man spoke, out of nowhere.

"Actually he's my fiancé…"

"Aha! I told you Alan! Those two were giving off newlywed-like vibes!"

"How was I supposed to know you weren't going senile yet!"

Duo watched the elderly couple bicker like children and smiled. It was wonderful how two old people could still act so young together. It was like tangible proof that love could stand the test of time.

By this time the couple seemed to have noticed that they were ignoring him.

"I apologize for my husband's unfounded assumption," At this point Alan stuck his tongue out. "Being fiancé's means that you've already gotten over the preliminary gap of awkwardness and have complete trust in each other, no?"

"I believe so." Duo nodded.

"Even so, are you completely sure that he is right for you?" the woman stared at Duo in a way that he felt like he couldn't hide anything. Her words pierced into him, bringing up recollections of the same words spoken under different circumstances.

"_Duo you can't keep going on like this. This is the second time he's beat you up like this. I didn't say anything the first time, but I can't just stand by and watch this happen!" Quatre pressed an icepack to Duo's swollen eye. The doctor hissed in response to the frigid cold assaulting his sensitive eye._

"_Quatre, he was drunk. He wasn't thinking clearly," Duo held the icepack to his eye, watching Quatre with the other one._

"_Duo, you know the horrors of domestic violence; you've treated patients who've suffered domestic violence! Each time they've said the same things to defend their loved ones and guess what? It's the exact same thing you're saying right now," it was rare to see Quatre this angry, but his best friend had just been assaulted by his boyfriend and he was pissed._

"_It's not domestic violence if it's not routine…" Duo muttered, looking at his hands. Quatre slapped his forehead._

"_Of all the excuses…!"_

_Quatre couldn't talk he was so mad at Duo, at Klementz, at the world for letting this happen. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He looked at Duo and was about to give him a Winner-grade tongue lashing for his stupidity, but stopped, his heart squeezing in pain for his friend._

_Duo was sporting the most heartbroken look on his face. His normally mischievous indigo eyes were about to overflow with tears. Seeing Duo depressed in general was a rare occurrence in itself, but seeing Duo looking like the weight of the world on his shoulders was nearly enough to make Quatre break down himself._

_The braided man looked up, tears finally creating rivulets down his cheeks._

"_What did I do wrong, Quat?"_

_Quatre sat down and wrapped his arms around Duo, as he proceeded to cry his heart out. For a long time they sat like that, Duo crying and Quatre tryingg his best to comfort him through his pain._

_After Duo had calmed down enough, Quatre looked him in the eyes and said:_

"_I don't know what possessed him to do what he did or why he did this, but I do know one thing; I don't really care as to his reasons for doing what he did. You are not in the wrong. He did this to you with no prior provocation. You could easily take him to court with this…" Quatre looked at Duo and sighed. "But you won't do that, will you?"_

"_I love him. Which means that I have complete trust in him."_

"_Yes, I know you do Duo, but tell me honestly. Would he do this if he really loved you? Are you sure he is the right guy for you?"_

"_I have faith that we can work through this. Every couple has their fights. This is just one of ours," Duo answered confidently._

"_I… I trust you Duo."_

"_I know Quat, I know."_

Duo looked back at the memory and balked at his own stupidity. Quatre had been right all along, but he'd been blinded by love. It took a bitchslap by reality to wake him up to all the things Klementz was doing. Things had not been okay, but Duo wanted so sorely to believe in one of the few people who'd looked past the label all citizens of L2 had pasted onto their backs from birth. He'd wanted to be able to trust again only to crash and burn with the force of Klementz's lies.

However, Duo refused to let Klementz affect him so; he didn't deserve the credit. Klementz could jump off of a cliff for all he cared. He was going to make a new life, a life without Klementz. A life in which he would become a useful member of his platoon and be proud of his accomplishments. He was going to make a name for himself and hopefully be able to build on the small foundation of the relationship he and Heero had created yesterday. He would make a spot for himself, a place he would belong no matter what atrocities Klementz had done to his confidence. Duo was ready for a change.

"Yes. Yes, I am sure," Duo replied. Alan broke out in a smile wider than the one he had earlier and his wife chuckled.

"Then that's enough, isn't it Jackie?" Alan looked at Jackie. She frowned.

"Whoever said I thought you were the right guy for me?"

"Why, you old hag!"

"Stinky goat!"

"Witch!"

The couple began arguing, and Duo couldn't help the bout of laughter that came this time. The couple stopped fighting, looked at each other, and began laughing along with him.

"Laughter truly is the best cure for tension," Alan said wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. Duo nodded, a face-splitting smile on his face. Jackie looked at him.

"Now youngster, there will be times when you will fight and you will get angry and doubt your marriage, but remember what you said here today. Remember and have faith. The road ahead will not be easy, but sometimes trust is the best thing you can have," Jackie stated wisely. "And don't be afraid to kick him up the ass if he needs it."

"Thank you for your advice. I will be sure to remember it. If you'll excuse me, I do think that I should be going," Duo looked up at the stars in the sky.

"Of course, go on." Jackie made a shooing motion. Duo smiled and said goodbye, leaving in higher spirits than when he came.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"I sent you the entire plan Wednesday morning. You should've had time to review it and return to me with any concerns. Does anyone still have any questions?" Heero asked. He received silence in return so he assumed that everyone was clear. "Then let's go over the plan one last time."

"Barton and Maxwell will infiltrate the building at 9:30 during the changing of the patrols. You have approximately two minutes before the patrols are effective again. Should you get spotted, continue with the infiltration. I will send Chang to provide back up.

I will remain on the outside to provide directions to the main computer. Once you two get there, input this disk into the computer. It is armed with a program that will disengage the security for twenty minutes. Download the information onto the USB I have provided before activating the other program on this separate disk that will crash the server. Then get out and radio to me. I will give Chang the sign to detonate the facility with the automated bombs and dynamite he will be placing on the facility while the infiltration is taking place. Is that clear?" Heero was met with three solemn nods. "The mission will begin in fifteen minutes. Make sure you're prepared."

Platoon 1 had met five minutes outside the village where they'd been hiding out. A black van came out to meet them, armed with all the equipment required for the undertaking of the mission. This included all the weaponry Wufei had allotted, the medical equipment Duo could not take on the plane with him, the technology and radios that Heero would use to keep in touch with them, and the equipment Trowa and Duo needed for the infiltration.

Platoon one had entered the back of the van and proceeded to arm themselves appropriately. Though Duo had used knives on L2, he'd never been in possession of a firearm before. He spent a while loading, unloading and generally inspecting the handgun before Wufei got tired of Duo's fidgeting and placed a hand over the handgun.

"God Maxwell, stop moving! You're making me nervous," Wufei glared at the doctor. Duo smirked.

"I thought this was a small caliber mission."

"I would be nervous anytime you are near a gun," Wufei deadpanned. Duo chuckled.

"I'm supposed to be saving you asses, not killing you faster. Relax Waffles, I won't be shooting anything," Duo ran a hand through his bangs.

"Then I hope you can run fast enough to not get caught," Trowa said, adjusting his wireless radio. Duo laughed nervously.

The van pulled up a safe enough distance from the facility to not be noticed. Heero looked at his watch. The time read 9:27.

"Alright. Barton, Maxwell, start heading in. I will radio you at 9:30 to begin the infiltration," Heero opened the door. Trowa made sure his gun was secured in its holster while Duo checked his radio.

"Alright rookie, let's get this show on the road," Trowa got out of the van with Duo following closely. They crouched in the bushes right outside the facility.

The factory wasn't large compared to the others of its nature. Duo remembered the building had four floors. To the surrounding civilians the factory was a government arms facility however Oz had taken over the place years prior. The French government was completely unaware, as all the transactions were done completely off the record. But in order to keep with the pretense of being a government controlled facility, the first floor could be viewed by anyone and tours were given periodically.

The second floor was used by the scientific sector for experimentation with different types of weaponry. The top two floors were used as offices for paperwork, tracking transactions, money, etc, etc. All information regarding the factory would most likely be kept in the director's office. That's where he and Trowa were headed.

"I will let you know when Wufei has finished hooking up all the explosives. Watch yourselves. Begin the infiltration," Heero's voice patched through. Trowa tugged on his sleeve to let him know that they were moving out.

The factory was surrounded by a wall, but it was easy enough to scale for Trowa, Duo took a bit longer getting up and over the wall and joined him a while after. They continued on, looking for a back entrance.

"There is an employee entrance around the corner. One minute until the patrols begin again."

Trowa and Duo barreled towards the entrance, checking to make sure that there weren't any guards before entering.

"We're in Yuy. Where to?" Trowa spoke into his microphone.

"Make a right and go straight. There should be an emergency stairwell you can take to get to the fourth floor. Don't bother with the elevator; it's too risky," Heero's voice responded.

Duo popped his head around the corner, looking right, then left. He felt strangely like a little boy crossing the street.

"Looks clear, Tro'," Duo whispered over his shoulder. Trowa nodded and they ran for the stairwell. They practically walked up the stairs to keep from making a sound that would alert the guards.

Their luck seemed to hold until they got to the fourth floor, where there were two guards patrolling the area. One turned around the corner, but the other was walking steadily towards them. They couldn't radio Heero for directions and they couldn't go back down the stairs because the noise caused by the doors shutting would fain the attention of the guard. Luckily Trowa had thought to hold the door open with his foot, but the noise after they left would still alert the guard.

Duo looked to Trowa for assistance. The vice Captain seemed pensive before handing Duo the two disks and the USB. He pointed to himself then the hallway to his left. He made a motion towards the guard and then the same hallway. Following that, he pointed to Duo and made the number two then motioned down the hallway. He pointed towards toe radio and the disks and looked to Duo for confirmation.

'_I'll go down this hallway and lure him away from you. You go second down this hallway. Radio Heero on how to get to the director's office'_

Duo nodded slowly in understanding. Trowa nodded back and waved before running out from their hiding place. Duo heard the guard yell after Trowa and run right past him in pursuit. Duo waited a couple of seconds before running down the hall. He was quick to radio Heero.

"Captain, Trowa and I've gotten separated. He's currently being chased by a guard-" Duo was cut off by the sound of gunfire being exchanged. "- or more than one guard. What's the plan?" Duo was breathing hard. Heero seemed to sense Duo's rising panic and tried to calm him down

"Maxwell? Maxwell, listen to me. Everything is fine. Make a left and the director's office should be right there. Begin the download and I will send Wufei to help Trowa," Heero said.

"But-!" An alarm began to ring, alerting the guards that there were intruders in the building.

"Duo Maxwell. You were chosen to be in the Elite Guard for a reason. Now prove it." Heero's voice cut off. Duo sighed. He was put on the Elite Guard as a medic, not to fight.

Duo followed Heero's instructions to the director's office. He tried to open the door, not surprised when he found it locked. Feeling around in his braid, Duo located his lock pick and effortlessly dissabled the lock. It looked like adrenaline pumping situations brought back some of his street rat abilities from L2.

Duo quickly entered the office and closed the door behind him.

Looked like the director had it good, judging from the office. Large furniture, paintings on the wall, plush office chair and a high tech computer. The director also seemed to have a thing for glass sculptures because there were multiple on a large piece of furniture showcasing them. Duo might just consider a career change…

Duo quickly booted up the computer and inserted the disk when asked for a password. The doctor watched in amazement as the disk made short work of any security system on the computer. He was in the system faster than Wufei could reload a gun (which, believe Duo, was _very_ fast). Duo looked past all the warnings the computer gave him about security and got onto the databanks. He inserted the USB and relaxed as the download began.

"Maxwell, status?" Heero's voice asked.

"I've just began the download. It should be finished in ten," Duo explained.

"Barton and Chang seem to have sustained light injuries. They are currently engaging the enemy in an armed gun fight on the second floor. Once you have finished downloading the information, crash the server and proceed down the emergency stairwell."

"Roger that," Duo said, idly picking up the director's name tag. It read _Director Lady Une_. Duo cut off his communication with Heero and put down the director's name tag. He looked around the desk, suddenly curious. He picked up a framed picture and inspected it. It contained a woman (whom he assumed to be Lady Une) shaking hands with a man with gelled brown hair. _Huh, he's not that bad looking…_ Duo thought.

A ping from the computer reminded him that he shouldn't be getting distracted. Duo realized that the download had finished and quickly removed the USB and prior disk before inserting the one to crash the system. It took all of ten seconds before a red warning sign flashed across the screen. Duo assumed that the program was working and gathered everything.

"Captain? Confirmed the download and server crash," Duo radioed to Heero.

"Alright. I'll tell Barton and Chang. Tell me when you're out of the building. I will be taking charge of destroying the facility.

"Got it," Duo made sure he had everything and ran out of the room. He didn't bother with trying to be quiet: the alarm was still going off and the enemy already knew they were there. Duo was a blur. He ran without stopping and didn't bother checking if anyone was following him. He was pretty sure he felt something graze his cheek at some point, but he couldn't be bothered to look.

Duo got outside and, sure enough, caught the attention of every guard there and their dogs. He didn't think he'd gone up a wall faster in his life.

"Heero, I'm out of the factory!" Duo practically screamed.

"Got it."

And behind Duo the building blew up. The noise was deafening, but Duo kept running up 'till he saw all of his other platoon members and the van. He all but collapsed on the ground when he got there.

"So… easy mission?" Duo gasped out.

"I should think so, Maxwell." Heero said, putting away his laptop.

"Yeah, we only got cornered by all of the guards," Duo rolled his eyes.

"No, I just didn't tell you the guards were there," Heero stated. Duo's eyes widened.

"What."

"I wanted to see what you would do, should the worst happen. I have to say you were able to handle the pressure and get the mission done, though you might want to work on keeping a cool head," Heero explained. Duo looked like he was about to commit murder.

"So you set me up? What would you have done if something had gone terribly wrong?"

"It wouldn't. I had both Chang and Barton there. And I had full trust in your ability to get this mission done," Heero stated. With that, all the words on Duo's tongue died. He suddenly felt unbearably happy.

"Well… I guess I'll let you off the hook… this time… But pull another stunt like this and I will personally come and kill you in your sleep!" Duo got up off the grass. Heero chuckled.

"As if you could."

A comfortable silence settled over the group.

"So…" Duo began.

"Mission complete. Let's go back."


	9. Sally Po

Chi: I… have no excuse. Basically, the only thing I can say is that between school, work and what is left of my pitiful social life, I have no time to myself. I figured it was about I high time I posted this. I'm not going to make any promises, as my life will be hectic until early June. After that, I will finally be able to focus on this story again and all will be sunshine and rainbows!

Bo: There will be some major editing going on, mostly in the grammar department, especially in the earlier chapters. And to any and all who are still reading this fic, thank you for still keeping with it though our updating schedule has been less than satisfactory. You are the wind beneath our wings, and I hope you still enjoy this fic.

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR SLIDING DOORS (darn…)

Warning: This contains Yaoi, probable lemons, AU and blowing up of objects out the wazoo. You have been warned.

**THE DOMINO EFFECT**

Chapter 9- Sally Po

After the adrenaline rush of the night before, Duo refused to get out of bed at any hour before eleven. Unfortunately for him, their plane ride was at nine, resulting in Heero literally beating him awake with his laptop case in order to wake him up at the ungodly (according to Duo, anyway) hour of six. Following his unceremonious fall to the ground, Duo slowly got up, almost tripping into the bed, and glared at Heero.

"What gives Captain?"

"Plane's at nine. We have to pack and go," Heero was already folding shirts and neatly packing them into his suitcase. Duo took one look at the messy corner that was his belongings and moaned.

"I give up. I'm going back to bed," Duo collapsed onto his bed and attempted to bury himself under his blankets. Heero sighed and, once again, smashed his laptop case into Duo. The doctor yelped and jumped out of bed.

"What the hell! This is domestic violence!" Duo rubbed his head.

"Get packed rookie. Don't make me resort to more drastic measures," Heero smirked sadistically. Duo shivered. Not that Heero didn't look downright _sexy_ looking at him like that, but his gaze promised pain if Duo didn't get his ass out of bed and tend to his mess. He sighed and sulked over to the pile of clothes. His bag should be in there somewhere…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

After dealing with the monster that was Duo's baggage, Duo got ready to go to the airport, dressed in drag for the last time (or so he hoped). Heero dealt with checking them out of the hotel while Duo waited for the cab Heero had ordered to take them to the airport. After Heero joined up with him, they got into the cab, and the driver took them to the airport.

Compared to the last time, getting to the airport in one piece was a fairly easy task. They got through check in and security smoothly enough; they even ended up with an hour of time to kill before heading on the airplane. However, Duo hadn't brought anything with him to occupy the time and Heero wasn't up to talking with him (like he ever was…), so he resigned himself to walking around the waiting area to look for something to do.

"Hey Heero? I'm gonna take a walk. Want me to get you anything?" Duo asked, getting up and brushing off his light orange dress.

"No, I will be fine. Just don't get yourself into trouble," Heero said. Duo smirked.

"Of course; I would never do that," Duo waved at Heero and went off. Heero shook his head and allowed himself a small smile. Despite the fact that Duo was probably dead tired from the night before, he still managed to keep a sense of humor. And though Duo had looked like he'd wanted to kill him for pulling the _dangerous_ (if you could even call it that, since he'd had Barton and Chang close enough to pull him out of trouble should he need it) stunt, after receiving Heero's praise his face had just lit up; even as he tried to hide how much it meant to him that Heero thought he did well. And in a way it was… endearing the way Duo had smiled after Heero said that he trusted him.

Heero closed his eyes; it seemed that they had amended their fragmented friendship to a point that they had no problem being in the same room together without wanting to kill each other. In fact, Heero was beginning to enjoy Duo's company and he hoped that they could get over their differences in their entirety and become friends… as strange as it felt for Heero to admit.

Before Heero thought that Duo was a slacker with a personality to match. After all, he had no reason to believe otherwise. Duo hated paperwork with a burning passion, locked himself in a closet to avoid practice with Wufei (though one could easily argue that it was for self-defense) and generally defied orders whenever he felt that he was justified (though… when was defying orders ever justified?). Heero didn't have the patience or willpower to believe that Duo was actually hard working, but the mission had changed his mind… for the most part anyway. Duo wasn't defying orders, just doing things his own way. And while Heero may think that Duo's methods were unorthodox and sometimes complicated matters, he could at least concede to agreeing that Duo was not the slacker he thought he was. This was one of the few times Heero was not mad that he was wrong, in fact it was quite the opposite. And if one were to push hard enough, Heero might just admit to being proud of the braided rookie.

Heero opened his eyes and watched Duo walk away. He smiled again to himself, suddenly eager to see what else the man from L2 could do with more training. Duo had already proven himself to be useful and willing to listen to orders (despite his my-pace ways), and he'd only just come. With more time, Duo could become a force to be reckoned with and Heero couldn't wait.

Duo turned around after feeling someone's eyes looking at him. He met Heero's gaze squarely, feeling his heart skip a beat before raising an eyebrow in question. Heero shook his head and looked away. Duo shrugged; that had been weird.

Duo continued on his way, looking at a couple of duty-free shops and amusing himself with the perfumes they put on display. He looked at the array of chocolate he was sure wasthere just to torture him, and wished that he had some money on him. He went from shop to shop, admiring their wares, until he realized he had only twenty minutes left. It would take him ten minutes to go back because he was pretty far out. But just as Duo was about to begin heading back, the news caught his ear.

"_With no leads on OZ's whereabouts, it seems that Preventors is becoming even more desperate for any sort of information. The recent attack on Relena Peacecraft has people wondering if it will happen again and, if so, who will be next? We turn to Treize Khushrenada of Romefeller to give us some information on the current state of affairs."_

Duo stared as the newscaster began interviewing a brown haired man in his mid thirties. They were talking about how all their members were protected and how nothing would go wrong, so on and so forth. Duo rolled his eyes. Romefeller had started as a group of aristocrats who wanted to be able to discuss politics, but had quickly changed and gained power in government as a group of pacifists. Relena Peacecraft was their current head with many powerful families in her backing, the Winners being one of them (and the only reason Duo knew any of this, courtesy of Quatre's ranting to him about his run-ins with the big-headed egoists of the world). Duo didn't really know anything about the politics of Romefeller, but somehow this Treize Khushrenada's face looked familiar, though he couldn't place him…

Duo scratched his head; it would probably come to him on the plane. Speaking of which…

"Final call for flight number GB689, flying to Dublin, Ireland," The announcer stated loudly through the PA system. Duo's eyes widened. Shit! Yuy would be so mad at him! He quickly rushed back to his gate, praying that he wouldn't be killed on the spot.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Against Duo's praying, Heero was absolutely livid. He was given a lecture on time management and being aware, though Duo truthfully tuned out half of it. Heero did realize that Duo wasn't listening to him and then lectured him on respecting his superiors while threatening to sick Wufei on him during his next training session. Duo paid attention after that, enduring Heero's lecturing until he couldn't take it anymore and began arguing with him. They both eventually gave up and lapsed into a stifling silence, which had Duo sleeping in moments.

When he woke up they were in the process of landing which gave Duo a nasty shock. Waking up to the feeling of falling was not his favorite thing to do, and he subconsciously grabbed Heero's arm on the descent. His captain had given him a strange look, but said nothing after seeing the slightly panicked on his face. After the plane had steadied itself, he'd realized he was still holding Heero's arm and let go sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," Duo smiled.

"I didn't know you had a fear of heights," Heero eyed Duo speculatively, trying not to dwell warmth leaving his arm. Duo shook his head.

"I don't have a problem with heights; I just woke up and felt like I was falling. It freaked me out for a moment," Duo glared at Heero as if daring him to make fun of him. "Don't tell me you wouldn't lose your nerve for a moment if you felt yourself falling."

"I don't know. I generally don't manage to fall asleep on airplanes," Heero conceded. Duo seemed taken aback by the admission.

"And you were accusing me of having a fear of heights?"

"I don't have a fear of heights; I just don't like sleeping on airplanes. I find it uncomfortable," Heero asserted.

"Uh-huh, sure. That's what they all say…" Duo said with a sly smile, as he poked Heero's side. Heero jumped and glared at Duo's hand.

"What the hell are you doing Maxwell?"

"Are you ticklish, Captain?" Duo blinked owlishly at the discovery. Heero couldn't help thinking he looked cute… wait, _cute_? Heero mentally shook himself. What was wrong with him?

"I am not ticklish," Heero looked slightly indignant at the claim. Duo poked Heero again, watching him jump in fascination.

"Stop that!" Heero grabbed Duo's arm to stop him from poking him again. Duo smirked and was about to say something before the plane made another drop that surprised him. His hand clenched and he shut his eyes waiting for the plane to steady itself. When he opened them again, Heero was sporting a shit-eating grin.

"Don't say anything," Duo ground out.

"Of course not," Duo could hear the amusement in his voice. The braided doctor frowned at Heero before realizing that Heero still had his wrist in a rather tight grip.

"Hey, you wanna let go of me anytime soon?" Duo raised his eyebrow. Heero looked down at the way his hand was gripping Duo's.

_ "Hikaru, you can't go! You can't!"_

Heero's own words echoed in his mind, reminding him of another time. Hikaru had been in the hospital and Heero would go almost everyday after his college classes. He'd spent as long as he possible could before Hikaru shooed him away… And then he came in one day and he found a commotion around Hikaru's bed and the doctor took him aside…

"Heero, are you okay?"

Heero looked up into Hikaru's too indigo eyes. He blinked a couple of times and realized that it was Duo.

"I'm fine," Heero released Duo and turned out to look out the scenery that was slowly getting closer. Duo looked contemplatively at Heero before sighing. This always seemed to happen when they were getting along. It was almost as if Heero was scared of getting closer to him. But Duo wouldn't back off because Heero had made a promise to him, and Duo had faith that Heero would follow through on it.

The plane neared the ground and landed, jerking Duo around as it did so. The indigo-eyed man held on to his armrest for dear life. He absolutely loathed airplane landings…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Duo, welcome back! How was the mission?" Aaoki greeted Duo warmly from her place at the welcome desk. Duo walked up to her, bags in tow.

"Just fine, though Yuy decided to set me up during the infiltration…" Duo was still slightly upset about that detail. Aaoki smiled sympathetically and dared a glance at the stoic man.

"Don't worry about it too much. I hear he did the same to Trowa on his first mission."

"What? He didn't tell me that…" Duo pouted.

"Well, neither Heero nor Trowa are exactly the most talkative people on this planet now are they?" Aaoki shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess not…" Duo laughed. Aaoki beckoned him closer. Duo gave her a curious look but came forward.

"How did things go with Heero? You guys getting on okay? Anything happen?" Aaoki whispered.

"Why would you think that anything… oh, I get it. Mei probably told you what she saw a week ago," Duo slapped his hand on his forehead. Aaoki pulled back, keeping her voice low because Heero was in the room

"Well you can't exactly trust her to keep her mouth shut with a secret like that. Besides, I'm pretty interested myself. I was surprised when I heard… oh how did she phrase it… ah, 'Heero and Duo were minutes away from engaging in a hot make out session!'."

"Firstly it's not really a secret. Secondly we were not about to make out!" Duo replied, heatedly. Aaoki smiled.

"Of course you weren't. And Heero isn't good looking or anything," She rolled her eyes. Duo flushed slightly.

"Anyway we aren't even good friends yet. I wouldn't make out with someone I barely knew," Duo said_. Yeah, only with assholes who use you and then seek gratification somewhere else_, a voice said snidely to remind him of Klementz. Duo ignored it, reminding himself of his assertion to not let his ex-boyfriend hold him down.

"Well, I won't push it. Anyway, I suggest that you go by the hospital wing today. There's someone you need to meet," Aaoki said turning back to her computer.

"Huh? Who is-"

"Maxwell, are you just going to stand here and gossip all day or actually get your mission statement filed?" Heero called, getting impatient with him. Duo looked at Aaoki, who winked at him. Duo turned to Heero, sighing.

"Alright, alright. It's not like we just got here or anything…"

"Get your work done first. Then you can goof off," Heero stated, going in the direction of the offices. God, it seemed like Heero seemed to switch between acting as if he had a stick up his ass and actually being able to act like a normal human being. Duo decided not to try Heero's patience and got to work.

Duo quickly passed by his dorm to drop off any non work related baggage. Afterwards he remembered Aaoki's request to go to the hospital wing, so he began making his way there. He had to file the records he took with him on the mission anyway.

As he neared the hospital wing, he could hear a distinctly familiar voice fast talking. Duo smiled, already knowing who it was before he even entered the room.

"Mei, what are you doing in here?"

The woman in question spun around, probably about to tell him off before she realized it was him and flung herself at him.

"Duo you're back! How was the mission? Did things get _interesting_ with Heero?" Mei looked up at him and smiled like the cat that ate the canary. Duo rolled his eyes; it was just like her to ask something like that as soon as he got back.

"Everything went fine and nothing remotely interesting happened. He's just my captain and a sort-of friend."

"Uh-huh, that's what they all say. The next thing you know you'll be tumbling into bed having crazy sex," Mei took a step back. "Anyway, there's someone you should meet."

Mei turned around and Duo realized that there was another woman behind her, though honestly he should've seen her before because it made no sense that Mei would be talking to herself (she didn't love the sound of her own voice that much). The woman had brown hair and blue eyes. She looked to be of Asian descent and was wearing a long sleeved green collared shirt and brown pants.

"This is Sally Po. She's from China and is the new medic for our platoon. You have to teach her all the ropes as you're technically her senior," Mei walked behind Sally and pushed her forward. Sally seemed all little hesitant so Duo made the first move and stuck out his hand in a greeting.

"It's nice to meet you Sally. I'm Duo Maxwell, the medic for Platoon 1. I've only been here for two weeks so don't worry about getting everything right away. I'll try to help you as much as I can," Duo's admission seemed to reassure her and she took his hand.

"It's nice to meet you Duo. I'm sure you'll be a great help. No other way to go but up, eh?" Sally smiled.

"Of course."

"Aw, look everybody's getting along! And it won't just be you guys for that long too! The medic for Platoon 2 will be here in a couple of days. There was some error in the paperwork or something along those lines. Aaoki knows the story so much better that I do. All I know is that her name is something like Analise Vargas and she's coming from Italy…" Mei seemed pensive, racking her brain for more information. "I know I'm forgetting to tell you something…. What is it…?"

"I'm sure it's not that important if you forgot it," Duo patted her shoulder reassuringly. Mei rubbed her temples thoughtfully.

"God Mei, how long does it take to show Sally to the hospital wing? I swear if you were in a race with a turtle, the turtle would've beaten you twice by now!" Itami came thundering into the room. She seemed to realize that she had intruded into a conversation, had the decency to look embarrassed for a total of two seconds before she noticed Duo and smiled.

"Oh, you're still alive, rookie? Didn't get blown up?"

"Not yet. Wait 'till the next mission," Duo smirked. Itami punched his shoulder.

"Good to see you in one piece. Wouldn't want you scratched up for the party!" Itami grinned.

"Party? What party?"

"You didn't tell him?" Itami turned an accusing gaze on Mei.

"I was getting to it! You showed up before I had the chance to…" Mei pouted.

"Was that the 'important thing' you were supposed to tell me?" Duo asked. Mei's face lit up in remembrance.

"Oh yeah! Relena Peacecraft is holding party in commemoration of the partnership forged between WP Corp and the Preventors. Well, specifically the Elite Guard, but Preventors will be there along with some important figures and what not. Anyway, we have to go to this party and act all pleasant. Y'know, the usual," Mei pasted a smile on her face. Itami rolled her eyes.

"You act as if you're happy to go to this… thing."

"I just hope there will be cute guys there. The last time was such a drag…"

"We're there to protect Relena, not scope out potential marriage partners!"

"You can say that because you have a boyfriend already!"

"I do not!"

Duo watched, amused as the two girls bickered and turned to Sally.

"So, welcome to the Elite Guard. I hope you brought earplugs." Duo offered a cheeky smirk. Sally could only offer a twitchy smile.


End file.
